Andean Group - August 2026

Ecuador’s new national security plan, which was published on 14 July and covers President Daniel Noboa’s 2025-2029 term, describes insecurity as a problem that must be tackled through force, but also through job creation, education, and a greater presence of the State in citizens’ lives. This, according to a government statement, will “transcend isolated actions and establish a planning strategy to recover peace, protect Ecuadoreans, and guarantee a more secure country”. This marks a more holistic vision than the hardline ‘Plan Fénix’ which Noboa announced on the campaign trail before he first took office in November 2023, which revolved around giving the military a far greater role in domestic security.

This greater military role, as outlined in Plan Fénix, has already become a reality following an April 2024 referendum, which changed the constitution to allow the armed forces to be permanently mobilised against crime [SSR-24-02]. It does not, however, appear to have turned the tide against the rising threat posed by criminal gangs. A March report by the local security think tank Observatorio Ecuatoriano de Crimen Organizado (Oeco) stated that the homicide rate in 2025 reached 50.1 per 100,000 people, the highest level on record and the fourth highest in the world, according to figures from the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (Gitoc) cited by Oeco.

Security objectives

The 2025-2029 national security plan sets out seven core objectives:

• Effectively controlling national territory and resources.
• Anticipating and neutralising threats via the preventive, timely, and coordinated use of State power.
• Rebuilding the prison system as a critical component of national security.
• Tackling threats to democratic stability and consolidating State institutions.
• Generating safe conditions that allow the State to provide essential services and full employment.
• Increasing control over natural heritage and complying with international commitments.
• Equitably channelling finance for development, security, and defence. 

The mobilisation of the armed forces will continue under the new five-year plan, which notes that in 2024, around 31,000 troops were deployed around the country, and that in 2025 an additional 1,750 soldiers were sent to nine “critical jurisdictions”, for roles including controlling prisons, patrolling ports, supporting police roadblocks, and patrolling strategic corridors. The document states that “the population views the military presence as a leading factor in security and dissuasion”.

Few details were provided on the “rebuilding” of the prison system, other than a confirmation of the ongoing involvement of the armed forces. Prisons have in recent years become a key hub of gang recruitment as well as being the site of multiple massacres between rival groups. A new maximum-security prison, Cárcel del Encuentro, which opened in Santa Elena province in November 2025, and can hold 800 high-risk inmates, has been hailed by the government as a key step in isolating gang leaders within the prison network. The facility is inspired by the flagship Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) in El Salvador.

The plan also states that reforms to the judiciary are in the pipeline. The extent to which the legal system has been infiltrated by criminal groups has been debated heavily since the launch of the massive ‘Metástasis’ corruption probe in late 2023. The security plan states that “the national assembly, in coordination with the judicial council, will implement necessary reforms to perfect the mechanisms for the qualification and naming of judicial authorities.” This is likely to be viewed with unease by Noboa’s opponents, amid claims that the judiciary is increasingly working on behalf of the government [WR-26-10].

More broadly, the security plan highlights a need to boost employment, particularly for young people and those living in border regions, which have been some of the areas most affected by the crime surge. It notes the economic and social risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), which it says could affect 40% of jobs globally, and highlights a need to boost digital literacy.

Youth employment scheme

President Noboa launched the third edition of his government’s ‘Jóvenes en Acción’ youth employment and training scheme on 15 July, assigning a further US$180m to the programme which will this year be open to 150,000 people aged between 18 and 29, up from 80,000 in the previous two iterations. According to a statement from the presidency, the scheme aims to “incentivise employment of young people, strengthen their skills, and help the economic development of beneficiaries”.

      In last year’s scheme, participants were given US$400 per month for their involvement in “key projects for Ecuador’s economic, environmental, and energy recovery”, with roles assigned by the environment ministry, agriculture ministry, and transport and public works ministry. Following a government restructuring, this year the roles will be assigned by the new infrastructure and transport ministry; the education, sport, and culture ministry; the health ministry; and the national secretariat for risk management.