Ecuador’s new president repealed a policy that allowed for the possession of small amounts of drugs without prosecution on Friday, in a move he said would counter “micro-trafficking.”
Center-left Daniel Noboa ordered the Ministry of Interior to repeal the rules adopted by former socialist president Rafael Correa, in force since 2013 to help focus police action on dealers rather than consumers.
Noboa, sworn in Thursday, had promised to eliminate the policy on the campaign trail, saying it “encourages micro-trafficking in schools and creates a whole generation of addicted children.”
Long a peaceful haven between major cocaine exporters Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has seen violence explode in recent years as enemy gangs with links to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control.
Homicides quadrupled between 2018 and 2022, climbing to a record 26 per 100,000 inhabitants.
It is on track to keep climbing.
Noboa has said he will implement a state of emergency, suspend some citizen rights such as freedom of movement, and deploy the military to the streets in order to stem drug-related violence.