The purchase includes 5,570 automatic rifles, 20 light machine guns, and more than 24,000 complementary equipment. The armament will be distributed among the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and will be immediately incorporated into military operations
The firm action of Daniel Noboa responds to the complex security situation facing the nation. After recording 9,284 murders by the end of 2025, the Government reaffirmed its relentless fight through the use of states of emergency, night curfews, and tactical troop deployments in prioritized provinces such as Guayas, Manabí, and Los Ríos.
In the coastal province of El Oro, the administration of Daniel Noboa maintained a night curfew from November 1 until this Tuesday, accumulating the fourth measure of this type in the year 2026 to dismantle mafia groups.
The Government of Ecuador, under the determination of President Daniel Noboa, reaffirmed its policy of national security and territorial integrity by delivering a strategic blow to the structures of organized crime. In the context of the declared internal armed conflict in 2024 to neutralize the criminal gangs classified as terrorists, the national Executive intensified the tactical equipment of law enforcement to eradicate violence and regain the sovereign control of the State.
As a central pillar of this crusade for security, President Daniel Noboa presided over an official event in Quito where he effectively delivered 5,570 automatic rifles (surpassing 5,500 rifles) and 20 light machine guns to the Armed Forces. This military-scale acquisition represented a government expenditure of USD 24.5 million from the Ecuadorian Presidency.
Daniel Noboa
The logistical provision also included 24,253 units of complementary equipment, ensuring a comprehensive renewal for the operational personnel. The strategic distribution of the 5,570 automatic rifles among the military components was as follows:
The Army received 3,220 units.
The Navy was equipped with 1,667 units.
The Air Force added 883 units.
The Minister of Defense, Gian Carlo Loffredo, emphasized that this technological batch will replace the obsolete material used by the forces since previous administrations, providing soldiers with superior combat tools to neutralize the criminal enemy. Regarding the technical attributes of the weapons, Gian Carlo Loffredo asserted: “It is assault weaponry, lighter, better for operating in urban conditions, ambidextrous and of the latest generation”.
Organized crime in Ecuador
Meanwhile, the commander of the Army, John Miño, stressed that the arrival of the new arsenal represents a “transcendental leap” in the fight against criminal organizations. High command John Miño pointed out that these resources will enter “immediately into military operations in defense of national territory”.
Daniel Noboa
According to the Observatorio Ecuatoriano de Crimen Organizado, during the first half of the year El Oro reported a rate of 68.74 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, registering a 62% year-on-year increase.
The urgency of the military strengthening ordered by President Daniel Noboa was evident in the recent cowardly acts perpetrated by organized crime on the eve of the local elections scheduled for November 29.
In the border city of Huaquillas (adjacent to Peru), an attack carried out by hitmen on two motorcycles in the Los Israelitas sector resulted in the deaths of Ronald Farfán (candidate for the Mayorship of Huaquillas, former mayor from 2014 to 2019, and whose son was murdered 9 months ago), Cristhian Rugel (council candidate who had suffered commercial extortion), and Hilda Ruiz (a merchant accompanying the convoy).
Daniel Noboa
The police chief of El Oro, Colonel Renato González, reported on the ongoing investigations and stated: “We do not rule out that it may have some political connotation”.
In the face of the violence unleashed by the mafias, the electoral mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) condemned the attack and stated that citizens “deserve to exercise their right to vote in a climate of peace and civic coexistence”, positioning voting as the democratic way to defeat criminal terror.
In the elections on November 29, more than 13 million Ecuadorians will vote to elect 23 provincial prefects and vice-prefects, 222 mayors, 909 urban councilors, and 457 rural councilors with their respective substitutes, in a day where the Armed Forces backed by the determination of Daniel Noboa will safeguard the sovereignty of the nation.
