Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, seen at the United Nations Headquarters in 2024 in New York City, faces criticism over a surge in child killings tied to gang violence. File Photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo
Between January and June 2025, Ecuador’s Interior Ministry recorded 294 killings of minors, compared with 196 in the first half of 2024. The 50% increase reflects a rapid deterioration in public security, especially in coastal cities such as Guayaquil, Durán, Manta and Machala, where criminal gangs are fighting territorial battles that expose minors to shootouts and extreme violence.
Of the victims, 80% were teenagers between 15 and 17 (237 cases), a group highly vulnerable to forced gang recruitment and hired killings. Six children between ages 5 and 9 and 16 children under 4 were also among those killed, several struck by gunfire during clashes in public areas.
On Sept. 4, during an official visit to Quito, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed Ecuador’s security crisis.
“Our commitment is to help this friendly government confront a threat that often comes from abroad, starting with drug cartels and groups that profit from illegal mining. We will do everything possible to help. Today we are declaring Los Lobos and Los Choneros as terrorist organizations,” Rubio said.
The designation allows authorities to block the groups’ financial assets, expedite extradition proceedings and share intelligence activities with Ecuadorian officials. Additionally, the United States has released $20 million to combat organized crime in Ecuador, including $6 million for the purchase of drones.
On his X account, President Daniel Noboa wrote, “Los Choneros and Los Lobos may keep believing no one can touch them. But the reality is different: they have been declared terrorist groups by the United States. With its support, we will remain firm in our fight to take back our country.”
Noboa’s handling of the crisis of child killings has drawn controversy and criticism for what many see as a failure to grasp the severity of the problem. The most notable case was his response to the murder of four children in December 2024, when he waited 14 days before making a public statement.
The current crisis has its roots in the declaration of an “internal armed conflict” that Noboa announced on Jan. 9, 2024, after a surge in violence that included the escape of criminal leader José Adolfo Macías, prison riots and the live takeover of a television station. At that time, the president identified 22 groups as terrorist organizations, a list that later expanded to 37.
Ecuador closed the first half of 2025 with 4,619 homicides, the highest number in its history and a 47% increase compared with the same period in 2024. That amounts to an average of 25.5 killings a day — more than one every hour.
One of the most troubling aspects of the crisis is the forced recruitment of minors by criminal groups. Between January and June 2025, between 1,200 and 1,300 minors were detained for links to organized crime. The previous year, between January and October, 3,086 children had been detained.
To address the issue, Noboa ordered the creation of a committee to “eradicate the recruitment of children into organized crime,” made up of representatives from 17 national government agencies.
Gloria Requena, an expert on international security, said, “These children and teenagers do not join these groups for economic gain but because they are looking for belonging. Their recruitment stems from state neglect — growing up in impoverished neighborhoods without basic services, they become easy victims for these gangs.”
So far, Noboa’s government has responded mainly with security measures and militarization. In July 2025, he reaffirmed the state of internal armed conflict, which allows the continued deployment of soldiers and police authorized to use lethal force against organized armed groups.
