Military removes a stone during protests on Monday, Sep. 20, 2025, in Latacunga, Ecuador. Photo: José Jácome/EFE.
By Ricardo Pose – Oct 3, 2025
Popular, Indigenous, and peasant protests are taking place across Ecuador. Far from seeking negotiations, the Daniel Noboa government’s response has been militarization, the occupation of populated areas, and internet shutdowns in some communities.
Noboa expressed his willingness to crack down on what he has called “terrorism,” empowering the Armed Forces to take part in the repression of popular protests, alongside other security forces.
Efraín Fuerez, 46, was killed on Sunday, September 28, with three shots presumably from long-range weapons only in the possession of the Armed Forces, which adds to the allegations of torture against detainees and illegal detentions.
⭕ #ParoNacional2025 | Multitudinaria movilización se realizó desde la Comuna de San Miguel del Común en #Quito, llegando hasta hasta la Panamericana Norte.
El pueblo organizado se mantiene en resistencia contra el Decreto 126, la represión y por la libertad de los detenidos.… pic.twitter.com/TAxpKyVQvS— CONAIE (@CONAIE_Ecuador) October 2, 2025
September 28, 2025, was the most repressive day of the national strike since September 20. The strike was called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) following the elimination of the diesel subsidy.
Over the weekend, there were roadblocks on all access roads to Otavalo, and the military used tear gas to suppress protesters, which did not stop the protests and mobilizations in that area. Similar events occurred in other Ecuadorian provinces, including on the access roads to the capital, Quito.
This Sunday, September 28, in Quito and Cuenca, there were demonstrations condemning military violence, calling for those responsible for Fuerez’s murder to be punished and for all economic adjustment measures to be eliminated.
Repeating recipes
Appealing to the same arguments as Lenín Moreno and Guillermo Lasso in 2019 and 2022, respectively, Noboa now plays the victim and says he is the target of attacks by terrorist groups and that he, too, will resist.
During the fifth day of the “immediate and indefinite strike,” the president challenged CONAIE leaders to win the presidency or the Constituent Assembly to impose their economic model, recalling that in the last election, CONAIE’s presidential candidate Leonidas Iza obtained less than 3% of the vote.
He ruled out the possibility of negotiating to resolve the conflict, claiming that there are intelligence reports that some people participating in the roadblocks in Imbabura are receiving money from criminal groups.
“Now, we see that many are connected to illegal mining and organized crime. We have seen members of [Venezuela’s] Tren de Aragua, narcoterrorists throwing rocks at police officers,” he explained in an interview with a media outlet.
However, all of those arrested (approximately 100 nationwide) and identified as alleged members of criminal groups have not been prosecuted as such. They are workers, farmers, and merchants who came out to protest peacefully.
“Bribing” the protest
With bonuses, compensation, loans, and all kinds of other “offers,” Noboa is trying to demobilize social organizations and citizens. The official argument is that by eliminating the diesel subsidy, the government will save US$1.1 billion annually.
Following the announcement of the elimination of the subsidy, the government offered compensation to passenger and cargo transporters, with payments ranging from US$400 to US$1,800 for a period of four months, with US$220 million allocated for this purpose. In addition, it created the Raíces Agricultural Bonus, a one-time payment of US$1,000 for small farmers, with a budget of US$100 million.
#Morocco #Gambia #Nepal #Peru #Madagascar #Ecuador are joining the brutal repression of protesters. Excessive use of force, including lethal, arbitrary arrests, militarization, and a disproportionate impact on youngsters are creating an increasingly dangerous pressure cooker 1/ pic.twitter.com/zb8awX8kAh
— Gina Romero (@Ginitastar) October 1, 2025
However, the mobilized organizations are far from accepting “the exchange,” and it has already cost them a death, imprisonment, and torture. United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association Gina Romero spoke out this Sunday after the death of Efraín Fuerez was announced.
“Protesting is a right. It cannot cost a life,” she wrote on her X account. Various human rights organizations, artists, filmmakers, academics, and countless social leaders from Ecuador expressed themselves in the same way.
The fuel of the IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a statement on Thursday, October 3, 2025, regarding the decision by Daniel Noboa’s government to eliminate the diesel subsidy. It emphasized that the Ecuadorian government is seeking to better target fuel subsidies.
According to the IMF, international experience shows that fuel subsidies often disproportionately benefit higher-income sectors and can also create risks of smuggling and corruption.
However, the IMF expressed concern about the social consequences of the reform, which have already left one person dead in the protests. The institution called for “constructive dialogue” between the government and the protesters as a way to restore calm and reach a definitive solution.
The shadow of Erik Prince
In Noboa’s bid to militarize the process, using as an excuse the fight against some of the criminal gangs such as the Chones and Los Lobos (part of the US list of terrorist organizations), the advice of Erik Prince can be seen.
On July 18, 2025, Erik Prince, founder of the security firm Academi, returned to Ecuador for the third time this year. Noboa’s administration hired him to provide training to security forces, as confirmed by Interior Minister John Reimberg. However, the terms of the contract and how much the training will cost the country are currently unknown.
“They are soldiers, I saw them”
A recent report reveals how the militarization of public security in Ecuador has facilitated the commission of forced disappearances at the hands of the Armed Forces, leaving entire families in uncertainty and highlighting the failure of the security policies implemented by President Daniel Noboa under the so-called “Phoenix Plan.”
The investigation exposes how Daniel Noboa’s government has systematically resorted to states of emergency and the declaration of an alleged “internal armed conflict” to justify the expansion of the Armed Forces’ role in public security tasks.
“Far from providing security, this strategy has opened the door to serious human rights violations and placed people in the country at greater risk,” the report concludes.
Armed Forces obstruct investigations
The report alleges that the Attorney General’s Office has faced serious obstacles in its investigation. The Armed Forces have refused to provide information, citing “secret” or “classified information.”
In parallel, the report highlights serious omissions by the Prosecutor’s Office itself: delays in key proceedings, failure to preserve evidence, and the opening of investigations under legal concepts other than forced disappearance. These have delayed victims’ access to truth and justice.
“Every day that passes without these crimes being solved is a torment for the families searching for their loved ones. The truth cannot continue to be hidden behind military excuses or institutional indifference. Authorities must remember that we are talking about children and young people whose lives were cut short, and about families who deserve immediate answers and real justice,” said Ana Piquer.
State Repression in Ecuador Leaves 1 Protester Dead, More Than 100 Detentions
Crimes that transcend borders
The impact of this militarized policy has not gone unnoticed internationally. In 2024, the UN Committee on Forced Disappearances issued 22 urgent actions related to Ecuador in cases that occurred between January and December alone. Meanwhile, the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Guayaquil recorded 33 disappearances in the same year.
In addition, relatives of missing persons have organized into the Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared of Ecuador, formed in 2024 in response to the increasing number of cases and the lack of government responses.
Militarization: A failed strategy
The investigation exposes how Daniel Noboa’s government has systematically resorted to states of emergency and the declaration of an alleged “internal armed conflict” to justify the expansion of the Armed Forces’ role in public security tasks.
“Far from providing security, this strategy has opened the door to serious human rights violations and placed people in the country at greater risk,” the report concludes.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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