Ecuador President Daniel Noboa Presents First-Year Report, Highlights Growth but Omits Crime Strategy

President Daniel Noboa addressed Ecuador's National Assembly on 24 May to deliver his first Report to the Nation for the 2025‑2029 term. He outlined three central goals—development in Quito and Guayaquil and public‑health improvements—announcing major infrastructure projects in the two largest cities and a bulk purchase of medicines from India to alleviate hospital shortages. Noboa also highlighted a reduction in country‑risk ratings, attraction of foreign investment, decreased poverty and the creation of decent jobs.

The report gave scant detail on the country’s organized‑crime problem. Independent data show extortion incidents have surged 1,300 % between 2019 and 2024, with only a modest 30 % drop reported in 2025 that primarily affects large firms. Smaller businesses, motor‑taxi drivers, fishermen, teachers and school‑bus owners continue to pay regular “vaccines” to fragmented criminal groups, which have shifted from narcotics and illegal mining to systematic extortion. A military deployment begun in 2024 has captured some gang leaders but has not dismantled the networks, which now operate in smaller, opportunistic cells across prisons and urban areas.