Ecuadorian president offers carte blanche to police and military after attack kills 22 in Guayaquil

(CNN) — Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has granted preemptive pardons for police and military personnel responding to an armed attack that killed at least 22 in the southern city of Guayaquil yesterday.

“We need you to act decisively and without fear of reprisal,” Noboa wrote in a post on X on Friday morning. “Defend the country, I will defend you.”

It’s not the first time the increasingly hardline Noboa has offered pardons to security officers fighting crime in Ecuador, even before they have been deployed or accused of wrongdoing.

CNN en Español has reached out to the president’s office for clarification on the extent of the pardons.

The attack in Guayaquil unfolded across three locations in the city on Thursday afternoon and left at least 22 people dead and six injured, authorities told CNNE.

“Preliminary reports” suggest that the attack arose out of a profit-sharing dispute between different factions of the Los Tiguerones criminal gang, according to a police statement shared with CNNE.

“Among the deceased and injured, several have a history of robbery, drug trafficking, and weapons possession,” police wrote.

Ecuadorean authorities raided “several homes” overnight and early in the morning after the attack, arresting 14 individuals and seizing weapons and ammunition, Ecuador’s Ministry of Defense announced in a post on X on Friday.

Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, has suffered grievously in the country’s ongoing drug-fueled violence epidemic. In 2024, the city recorded nearly 2,000 homicides, government statistics show.

Noboa has sought to crack down on Ecuador’s spiraling security crisis since becoming president in 2023, declaring several states of emergency and designating 22 criminal organizations as terrorist groups, moves that have prompted criticism from some rights groups domestically and abroad.

Instability in Ecuador, fueled by the international drug trade, has been the backdrop of Noboa’s campaign for a second term this year. He fell short of securing an outright majority in the first round of voting in Ecuador’s general election last month.

A second-round vote in the coming months will decide if the Latin American country will stick with Noboa’s approach or seek an alternative voice in leftist candidate Luisa González.

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