[REVISION HISTORY]

Ecuador justice system protection and legislative response

Updated 8 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-03 05:42 UTC → 2026-09-11 15:28 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In early August 2026, Ecuadorian police, judges, and justice officials reported that organized crime groups were compromising their identities, leading to intimidation, bribery, and lethal retaliation. Officials called for stronger legal safeguards and the concealment of identities in case files to mitigate these risks. By mid-August, the scope of judicial insecurity expanded to include human rights lawyers defending indigenous communities, who faced surveillance and criminalization. On August 17, the crisis escalated with the murder of José Luis Merchán Perero, secretary of the Prosecutor's Office in Salinas. The Latin American Federation of Prosecutors (FLF) condemned the state for its failure to protect judicial officers, describing the killing as evidence of the state’s inability to safeguard those prosecuting criminals. In response, the National Assembly has advanced two major legislative fronts. The Security Commission has moved forward with the first debate report for an ‘Antimafia Law.’ This proposal seeks to reform the Organic Integral Penal Code and the Organic Law on Asset Forfeiture, introducing prison sentences for membership in criminal organizations and up to 30 years for leaders and financiers of high-impact crimes. It also targets corruption by proposing sanctions for lawyers and establishing expedited processes for the forfeiture of perishable seized assets. On August 24, the National Assembly passed a law allowing the Armed Forces to provide exceptional, temporary, and subsidiary support to the National Police to combat organized crime without declaring a state of emergency. This law entered into force on September 1, 2026. It establishes that military involvement is not automatic and must be requested when there is a verifiable operational insufficiency within the National Police. ~~The law specifies that military actions must adhere to principles of proportionality and reasonableness, ensuring that constitutional protections regarding the inviolability of~~ By September 10, a joint report from seven international organizations, including the ~~home~~ FIDH and ~~property~~ Civicus, warned of an accelerated deterioration of human rights ~~remain in effect.~~ and civic space.

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.