Ecuador’s Lasso seeks reforms to strengthen fight against drug trafficking

QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso on Wednesday asked Congress for changes to the country’s constitution to allow the military to support police work in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking.

Lasso, a former conservative banker who has held office since May 2021, wants to crack down on growing crime, including in prisons, arguing that violence plagues the South American country.

Lasso initially sought to put the reform to a referendum on Feb. 5 of next year.

However, the country’s Constitutional Court rejected the plan and said that changes to the military’s role had to be approved by the National Assembly.

“The Assembly can offer a permanent and lasting solution in the fight against drugs. We need this tool to provide security and peace of mind,” Lasso said outside Ecuador’s Congress.

Currently, the Ecuadorean military cannot support the police in domestic security tasks, unless there is a declaration of a state of emergency.

The reform requires 92 votes for approval, a difficult task for Lasso, who does not have a majority in Congress and has faced tensions with lawmakers since he took office.

In June, opposition lawmakers called for Lasso’s removal during anti-government protests by indigenous groups.

Lasso declared a state of emergency in November in three provinces after attacks against police units were reported.

Some 69 police officers have been killed in the fight against organized crime so far this year, according to official data.

“We are concerned that the military is being pulled away from its main task, which is to guard the borders where the trafficking of drugs, arms and people occurs,” Esteban Torres, a lawmaker from the Social Christian Party, told reporters.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Editing by Leslie Adler)