sworn

Deadly protests followed the 92-year-old president’s re-election, which opponents have called ‘fraudulent’.

Cameroon’s longtime leader, Paul Biya, has been sworn in for a new seven-year term following his victory in last month’s presidential election, which his opposition rival has described as “a constitutional coup”.

Addressing Parliament on Thursday, the world’s oldest president promised to stay faithful to the confidence of the Cameroonian people and pledged to work for a “united, stable and prosperous” country.

There were deadly protests in several parts of Cameroon days after the October 19 vote, followed by a three-day lockdown this week after former minister and key contender Issa Tchiroma claimed victory and alleged vote tampering.

The government has confirmed that at least five people were killed during the protests, although the opposition and civil society groups claim the figures are much higher.

The incumbent, Africa’s second-longest serving leader, took the oath of office during a session of Parliament in what residents describe as the heavily militarised and partially deserted capital, Yaounde.

Priscilla Ayimboh, a 40-year-old seamstress in Yaounde, does not see a new term for Biya as likely to change anything.

“I’m tired of Biya’s rule and I no longer care whatever he does. It’s a pity. I wonder what will become of Cameroon in the next seven years: there are no roads, water, and jobs,” she said.

Munjah Vitalis Fagha, a senior politics lecturer at Cameroon’s University of Buea, told The Associated Press news agency that Biya’s inauguration was “taking place in a tense yet controlled political atmosphere, marked by deep divisions between the ruling elite and a growingly disillusioned populace”.

Fagha added: “The ceremony occurs amid calls for political renewal, ongoing security challenges in the Anglophone regions, and widespread concerns over governance and succession.”

Cameroon’s top court on October 27 declared Biya the winner of the election, with 53.66 percent of the vote, ahead of his ally-turned-challenger, Tchiroma, who secured 35.19 percent.

Tchiroma insists Biya was awarded a “fraudulent” victory in the election.

“The will of the Cameroonian people was trampled that day, our sovereignty stolen in broad daylight,” Tchiroma wrote on Wednesday night. “This is not democracy, it is electoral theft, a constitutional coup as blatant as it is shameful.”

Biya came to power in 1982 following the resignation of Cameroon’s first president and has ruled since, following a 2008 constitutional amendment that abolished term limits. His health has been a topic of speculation as he spends most of his time in Europe, leaving governance to key party officials and family members.

He has led Cameroon longer than most of its citizens have been alive – more than 70 percent of the country’s almost 30 million population is below the age of 35. If he serves his entire term, Biya will leave office nearly 100 years old.

The results of his nearly half-century in power have been mixed; armed rebellions in the north and the west of the country, along with a stagnant economy, have left many young people disillusioned with the leader.

Colonel Randrianirina set to assume presidency in Madagascar after President Andry Rajoelina removed.

Military leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina will be sworn in as Madagascar’s transitional president on Friday, the country’s new leadership has announced, as the African Union (AU) said it would suspend the country after a coup to remove President Andry Rajoelina.

Randrianirina “will be sworn in as President of the Refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar during a solemn hearing of the High Constitutional Court” on October 17, said the statement, published on social media by a state television station on Thursday.

Rajoelina, who was impeached by lawmakers after fleeing abroad during the weekend, has condemned the takeover and refused to step down despite youth-led demonstrations demanding his resignation and widespread defections in the security forces.

Randrianirina led a rebellion that sided with the protesters and ousted Rajoelina on Tuesday in the sprawling country of about 30 million people off of Africa’s east coast. Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the country has had a history of coups and political crises.

The latest military takeover capped weeks of protests against Rajoelina and his government, led by youth groups calling themselves “Gen Z Madagascar”. The protesters, who also included labour unions and civic groups, have demanded better government and job opportunities, echoing youth-led protests elsewhere in the world.

Among other things, the Madagascar protesters have railed against chronic water and electricity outages, limited access to higher education, government corruption and poverty, which affects roughly three out of every four Madagascans, according to the World Bank.

Although some suggest the military seized power on the backs of the civilian protesters, demonstrators cheered Randrianirina and other soldiers from his elite CAPSAT unit as they triumphantly rode through the streets of the capital Antananarivo on Tuesday. The colonel has promised elections in two years.

The takeover was “an awakening of the people. It was launched by the youth. And the military supported us”, said the protest leader, Safika, who only gave one name as has been typical with the demonstrators. “We must always be wary, but the current state of affairs gives us reason to be confident,” Safika told The Associated Press news agency.

The protests reached a turning point Saturday when Randrianirina and soldiers from his unit sided with the demonstrators calling for the president to resign. Rajoelina said he fled to an undisclosed country because he feared for his life.

Randrianirina had long been a vocal critic of Rajoelina’s administration and was reportedly imprisoned for several months in 2023 for plotting a coup.

His swift takeover drew international concern. The African Union condemned the coup and announced the country’s suspension from the bloc. The United Nations said they were “deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change of power”.

WASHINGTON — Democrats are ramping up the pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who won a special election last month to succeed her late father.

The delay has attracted mounting attention this week, with Johnson challenged by lawmakers, reporters and even C-SPAN viewers about why Grijalva hasn’t been given the oath of office. Johnson has said repeatedly that she will be sworn in when the House returns to session. He blames the government shutdown for the delay.

Here’s a look at where the situation stands:

Who is Adelita Grijalva?

She is the daughter of Rep. Raul Grijalva, a staunch progressive who died in March. He served more than two decades in the House, rising to chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, where he helped shape the nation’s environmental policies.

Adelita Grijalva has been active in local politics, first serving at the school board level and subsequently on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, becoming just the second woman to serve as chair.

She easily won a special election Sept. 23 to serve out the remainder of her father’s term. She will represent a mostly Hispanic district in which Democrats enjoy a nearly 2-1 ratio voter registration advantage over Republicans.

How Grijalva views the delay

Grijalva was gracious to her soon-to-be Democratic colleagues as they welcomed her to the U.S. Capitol last month, even as she and her future staff were officially considered visitors to the building.

“I think it’s great to be able to be in a room with those who will be my colleagues, but then you very quickly realize that you are not part of the club yet,” Grijalva said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press. “If I had big money to bet, I would bet that if I were a Republican representative waiting in the wings, I would have already been sworn in by now.”

She said she’s worried about the precedent that is being set by her delayed swearing-in.

“The bedrock of our democracy is free, fair, unobstructed elections,” she said. “And if Speaker Johnson believes this is, as I do, then he will quit toying with our democratic process and swear me in.”

Why the House is empty during the shutdown

Members of the House have been mostly back in their home districts since Sept. 19. That’s when Republicans passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through Nov. 21. Johnson’s decision to send lawmakers home was intended to pressure the Senate into passing that funding measure — a tactic that so far hasn’t worked.

Johnson has yet to schedule any floor votes since then, though the House has occasionally met in pro forma sessions, which are generally short affairs lasting just a few minutes during which no votes are taken.

“We will swear her in when everybody gets back,” Johnson told reporters this week.

Lawmakers who win special elections generally take the oath of office on days in which legislative business is conducted, and they are welcomed with warm applause from members on both sides of the aisle. They give a short speech as family and friends watch from the galleries.

Yet there is precedent for doing it differently. On April 2, Johnson swore in Republican Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine, both of Florida, less than 24 hours after they won their special elections, during a pro forma session.

Johnson says the circumstances were unique because the House had unexpectedly gone out of session that day. Patronis and Fine had already arranged for their families, friends and supporters to be in Washington.

“As a courtesy to them and their families, we went ahead and administered the oath to an empty chamber. It was no fun. They didn’t get the same pomp and circumstance everybody else gets,” Johnson said Thursday on C-SPAN when asked by a caller about Grijalva. “We’re going to administer the oath as soon as she gets back.”

How are Democrats responding?

Democrats have little leverage to force Johnson to seat Grijalva so long as the House is in recess. But they are keeping up the pressure.

In an unusual scene Wednesday, Arizona’s two Democratic senators — Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego — confronted Johnson outside his office about Grijalva’s situation.

“You just keep coming up with excuses,” Gallego said to Johnson. The speaker called it a publicity stunt.

Democrats have also taken to the floor during pro forma sessions to try to have Grijalva sworn in. The presiding officer has ignored them every time.

“Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva should be sworn in now. It should have happened this week, should have happened last week. It needs to happen next week,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Thursday.

What does her swearing-in have to do with the Epstein files?

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, defying GOP leadership, has been gathering signatures on a petition to trigger a vote on legislation that would force the release of federal files on Jeffrey Epstein. And he’s just one name away from succeeding.

Grijalva has said she’ll sign the petition once she takes office, providing Massie the 218 signatures needed to trigger a vote.

Democrats say Johnson is stalling on Grijalva’s swearing-in, as well as on bringing the House back to Washington, because he wants to push off any Epstein vote.

Johnson rejected that accusation during his appearance on C-SPAN. “This has zero to do with Epstein.”

Grijalva said she tries to not be a “conspiracy theorist” and initially disagreed with supporters and allies who warned her that she wouldn’t be seated in Congress because of the Epstein bill.

“I thought, no way, he’s gonna swear me in. It’ll be fine,” she said. “Here we are two weeks later.”

Brown and Freking write for the Associated Press.

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Former fast-food executive Andrew Puzder officially became the U.S. ambassador to the European Union during a swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday at the White House.

Puzder, 75, swore his oath of office in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump in attendance.

A 13-second clip of the ceremony, posted online by Margo Martin, special assistant to Trump, shows Puzder with his hand on the bible reciting an oath read to him by Secretary of state Marco Rubio.

“Congratulations to our Ambassador to the European Union, @AndyPuzder!” The White House said on X, posting a picture from the ceremony.

The Senate confirmed Puzder’s nomination to the ambassadorship on Aug. 2 with a 53-44 vote.

An April certificate of competency for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations describes Puzder as a “globally renowned business leader, political commentator, author, attorney and a retired chief executive officer.”

He is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute and Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy and a member of the Reagan Institute’s National Leadership Council.

“America just gained a superb EU Ambassador,” the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation said on X.

Puzder also frequently delivers lectures on economic and policies at various associations and academic institutions.

He also has contributed expert commentary for The Wall Street Journal, National Review, RealClearPolitics and Fox News and has authored several books.

Puzder earned a bachelor’s from Cleveland State University and a juris doctorate from the Washington University School of Law.

“Mr. Puzder’s broad understanding of international economic development and decades of experience in a range of professional settings make him a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. representative to the European Union,” according to the competency certificate.

It’s the second time that Trump nominated Puzder for an important position within his administration.

He initially was Trump’s Labor Department secretary nominee during the president’s first term in 2017, but he withdrew his consideration a day before his scheduled Senate confirmation hearing.

Puzder was subject to claims of alleged spousal abuse and employing a housekeeper who was not a legal “immigrant” when he withdrew his consideration.

His former wife denied the allegations against Puzder.

Puzder formerly was the chief executive officer of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s owner CKE Restaurants for 17 years and helped the fast food chain recover from its financial troubles.

Reporting from Sacramento — Gavin Christopher Newsom took his place as California’s 40th governor Monday, christening a new political era of progressive activism in a Golden State both brimming with wealth and hollowed by poverty.

Beneath a tent outside the Capitol protecting him and thousands of well-wishers from the threat of rain, Newsom rested his hand on a Bible held by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye and recited the oath of office. His wife, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, stood at his side, along with their four children.

The former lieutenant governor and San Francisco mayor, 51, arrived at this moment by winning the largest electoral victory of any California governor in more than a half-century, largely on promises to restore California’s luster and offer an alternative to what he has called the “corruption and incompetence” in President Trump’s White House.

At the heart of Newsom’s first address to California as its new governor was a forceful rejection of the policies and values of that administration, including the president’s push for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and a move to separate children from immigrant parents seeking asylum. Though Trump’s name was not mentioned in the roughly 30-minute speech, the ire directed his way was clear.

“What we do today is even more consequential, because of what is happening in our country,” Newsom said. “People’s lives, freedom, security, the water we drink, the air we breathe — they all hang in the balance. The country is watching us. The world is waiting on us. The future depends on us. And we will seize the moment.”

Just hours after taking the oath of office, Newsom took another swipe at Trump by announcing plans for a major expansion of Medi-Cal to cover young immigrants in the U.S. illegally and require consumers in the state to carry health insurance, a mandate in the Affordable Care Act that was nixed by the federal government.

The Day 1 announcement was as much a rebuke to the Trump administration as it was an attempt by Newsom to make good on his campaign promise to fix a fragmented healthcare system that leaves many priced out or underinsured.

Newsom’s upbringing included family struggles and privilege, experience that shaped his rise in California politics. The child of divorced parents, he grew up with his mother, Tessa, who eked out a living working multiple jobs. But through his father, William, a state appellate court judge, Newsom had an entree into the highest echelons of San Francisco society.

That helped launch his successful wine and hospitality business and propelled his political career, which began when San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown appointed him to the local Parking and Traffic Commission in 1996. He would later serve on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and as that city’s mayor before becoming lieutenant governor in 2011.

Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom to place California wineries, hotels in blind trust »

From there he launched his bid for governor, and campaigned on an ambitious and expensive agenda, including proposals for a state-sponsored healthcare system, universal preschool and increased funding for higher education. Newsom said he’d rather be bold and risk failure than wallow in the safety of political incrementalism.

He defined the problems California now faces in sobering terms, saying state officials who pride themselves on leading the fifth-largest economy in the world cannot overlook that there are more homeless and children living in poverty here than any other state in the union. Newsom extolled the virtues of the rescue crews who fought the recent wildfires in Paradise, Malibu, Santa Rosa and Ventura and in his inaugural speech urged Californians to share that same “compassion and empathy” for those in need.

“We face a gulf between the rich and everyone else — and it’s not just inequality of wealth, it’s inequality of opportunity,” he said. “A homeless epidemic that should keep each and every one of us up at night. An achievement gap in our schools and a readiness gap that holds back millions of our kids. And too many of our children know the ache of chronic hunger.”

The inauguration ceremony began with a rendition of the gospel song “Titanium” by the Voices of Destiny, the choir from Compton’s Greater Zion Church, and traditional Mexican melodies from the music group Los Cenzontles of Richmond.

Providing levity to the occasion, Newsom’s 2-year-old son, Dutch, jumped on stage with his father and, for a brief time, wandered around as the new governor spoke. Siebel Newsom was able to briefly divert her son only for him to return to the stage minutes later. She grabbed him again and this time, the crying toddler did not reemerge.

“When fires strike, when kids cry and the earth shakes, we’ll be there for each other,” Newsom said.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the speech, and the boy’s unplanned cameo, humanized the governor. Garcetti appreciated that Newsom talked about the state’s importance on the national level.

“California’s fight is first and foremost for California,” Garcetti said. “But it also models behavior for the rest of the country — that we don’t have to be at each other’s throats and that we can govern in a bipartisan way in which geography and party doesn’t define us. I think that was very encouraging, but he didn’t back off a progressive agenda.”

Newsom’s speech on Monday was designed to outline the broad goals of his upcoming administration. The underpinnings of those policies, including his initial legislative agenda and specifics about spending, will be revealed in more detail when Newsom releases his first budget proposal this week and delivers a State of the State address later this month.

“He set out a bold agenda when he ran for governor,” former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis said. “We should know a lot more after those three events have occurred.”

George Skelton: As California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom needs to address what no one wants to talk about »

Newsom takes the helm from Gov. Jerry Brown, who over eight years guided California out of recession-driven deficits and leaves his successor with an estimated $14.5-billion surplus and an ample rainy day fund. The former governor received a standing ovation after Newsom praised his leadership in California.

Brown, 80, the longest-serving governor in California history, watched the inauguration from a nearby perch filled with California dignitaries. Joining him for the day of celebration at the Capitol were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and former Govs. Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The changeover in administrations brings an infusion of energy and unpredictability into a capital city that has for the last eight years grown accustomed to Brown’s intellectualism and iron political hand. The silver-tongued, at times loquacious Newsom has vowed to “seize this moment” as he did in 2004, when, as mayor of San Francisco, he leapt into the national consciousness by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, defying the law and ultimately altering the course of LGBTQ rights in the United States.

His ascent to the governor’s office underscores the ongoing generational shift underway in California’s top political leadership, which began when U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris succeeded Sen. Barbara Boxer, who retired in 2017.

Read Gov. Gavin Newsom’s inaugural address »

The change was felt during pre-inauguration festivities on Sunday, when the Newsoms and their four young children joined thousands of supporters at a free family-focused celebration at the California State Railroad Museum, and afterward hosted a benefit concert headlined by rapper Pitbull at the Golden 1 Center to raise money for wildfire victims. And for the first time in decades, California’s Victorian-style governor’s mansion will be home to a young family.

California’s new governor has signaled a significant new focus on programs to help families and children from infancy to college, with glimpses of those priorities surfacing as a few details of his upcoming budget have been revealed by the Los Angeles Times and other news outlets over the last week.

The Newsom administration’s attention to the needs of young children includes $1.8 billion in new spending on early childhood education programs, with a particular emphasis on funding increases to help train child-care workers and a push for more California schools to offer full-day kindergarten. The governor is expected to propose a dramatic expansion of paid parental leave from six weeks to six months, and to spend $40 million to expand tuition-free community college to California students from one year to two years.

“Everyone in California should have a good job with fair pay. Every child should have a great school and a teacher who is supported and respected. Every person should be able to go to college without crushing debt or to get the training they need to compete and succeed. And every senior should be able to retire with security and live at home with dignity,” Newsom said. “That is the California dream.”

It can’t get much better for Gavin Newsom as California’s next governor. But it’s almost certain to get worse »

While Newsom is taking office amid nearly a decade of nationwide economic expansion and a state budget surplus that the Legislative Analyst’s Office in November declared “extraordinary,” California’s new governor has vowed to prevent a Sacramento spending spree. He has said the state’s financial well-being exists at the mercy of a capricious economy, and his calls for fiscal discipline and restraint had grown louder as his inauguration approached. Newsom has reached out to Republicans and other voters who did not support him in November, seeking to cool any expectations that he might blindly support a lengthy wish list of Democratic issues pent up by Brown’s tightfistedness.

“We will prepare for uncertain times ahead. We will be prudent stewards of taxpayer dollars, paying down debt, meet our future obligations. And we will build and safeguard the largest fiscal reserve of any state in American history,” Newsom said in his address.

The governor begins his tenure in a Capitol under the firm control of Democrats. After the 2018 election, the party holds 89 of 120 seats in the California Legislature.

Maybe not a bond, but there’s a connection between Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom as governors of California »

The legislative makeup allows Democrats to pass any bill, including tax hikes, without relying on a single vote from their GOP counterparts. But the ability of the legislative and executive branches to work together — and varying factions of elected Democrats to see eye-to-eye — remains unknown as California embarks on a new political chapter.

Many Democratic lawmakers share Newsom’s desire to overhaul the healthcare system and boost funding to increase access to preschool for children from low-income families, among other progressive policies unsuccessfully attempted under Brown that Newsom endorsed on the campaign trail. In an effort to lower expectations, Newsom has made it clear that he doesn’t plan to sign every bill that lands on his desk, or frivolously deplete the state’s budgetary cushion.

Newsom, when speaking to reporters the day before his swearing-in, took a few minutes to reflect on the winding path that brought him to the governor’s office. A decade and a half ago, many thought such an achievement would be out of reach for the brash, young mayor of San Francisco.

“It’s been a long process,” Newsom said. “There was a moment when folks thought in 2004, 2005, that I would be lucky to get reelected as mayor, let alone ever elected outside of San Francisco.”

Times staff writer John Myers contributed to this report.

Coverage of California politics »

[email protected]

Twitter: @philwillon

Updates on California politics

Pro-European Nicusor Dan faces big challenges after defeating pro-Russian George Simion last week in a tense run-off.

Pro-European Nicusor Dan has been sworn in as Romania’s new president amid persisting claims from the far right that his election was illegitimate.

The centrist promised on Monday to usher in a “new chapter” in Romania amid hopes that his inauguration could help bring an end to months of political crisis. However, his pro-Russian and nationalist rival George Simion maintained that the May 18 election represents a “coup d’etat”.

In the run-up to the election, which was marred by the annulment of November’s initial vote due to Russian interference, Dan promised to quash corruption and reaffirm Romania’s commitment to the European Union and NATO.

In his inauguration speech, he said he would fix Romania’s economic and political woes and be a president “open to the voice of society”.

“The Romanian state needs a fundamental change within the rule of law, and I invite you to continue to be involved in order to put positive pressure on state institutions to reform,” he said. “I call on political parties to act in the national interest.”

‘National treason’

The May election rerun was held months after the Constitutional Court voided the previous election.

Far-right, pro-Russian Calin Georgescu had won the most votes in the first round of November’s vote but was thrown out of the race after allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.

Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), took his place and led the polls for weeks before a surge in the final days of the campaign pushed Dan past the post.

Since the result was announced, Simion has repeatedly alleged, without providing evidence, that the election was rigged through foreign interference.

However, the Constitutional Court validated the results on Thursday after rejecting an appeal from Simion to annul the vote.

Lawmakers from the AUR boycotted the swearing-in ceremony, calling it “legitimising a national treason” while Simion condemned the court’s decision as a “coup d’etat”.

Authorities remain on alert with protests expected by supporters of the far right.

Dan’s victory over Simion was heralded around Europe with the outcome viewed as crucial to maintaining Romania’s place within Western alliances, especially as the war continues in neighbouring Ukraine.

“We won the Romanian presidential elections. People rejected isolationism and Russian influence,” Dan said on Sunday at a rally in Poland for liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who will face nationalist Karol Nawrocki in a presidential run-off on June 1.

However, significant challenges lie ahead for Dan as Romania faces political and economic crises.

He must first nominate a prime minister who can garner the support necessary to form a new government as widespread rejection of the political class has propelled figures like Georgescu and Simion into leading challengers.

Dan is expected to meet Ilie Bolojan, who had been serving as interim president. The member of the pro-EU National Liberal Party has been tipped as a possible prime minister.

As for Romanians struggling economically, Dan made few promises on Monday.

“Put simply, … the Romanian state is spending more than it can afford,” the new president said.

“It is in the national interest for Romania to send a message of stability to financial markets,” he said. “It is in the national interest to send a signal of openness and predictability to the investment environment.”

The right-wing Noboa had defeated left-wing candidate Luisa Gonzalez amid allegations of electoral fraud.

Daniel Noboa, Ecuador’s youngest-ever president and heir to a prominent banana-exporting fortune, has been sworn in for his first full term in office, pledging to intensify his government’s battle against powerful drug gangs while reviving the struggling economy.

In a ceremony at the National Assembly in Quito on Saturday, the right-wing president was sworn in by Assembly President Niels Olsen Peet, who draped the presidential sash across his shoulders before the two raised clasped hands in a symbolic gesture of unity.

Noboa, 37, won the election in April’s, securing a new term after completing the final 18 months of his predecessor’s tenure, defeating left-wing candidate, Luisa Gonzalez, despite her allegations of electoral fraud.

Speaking to lawmakers, Noboa pledged to make a sharp reduction in violent crime a cornerstone of his administration.

“The progressive reduction of homicides will be a non-negotiable goal,” Noboa declared. “We will maintain our fight against drug trafficking, seize illegal weapons, ammunition, and explosives, and exercise greater control at the country’s ports.”

Ecuador, once considered one of the more stable countries in the region, has in recent years faced a sharp rise in violence, with drug cartels, including the powerful from Mexico, exploiting porous borders and weak institutions to expand their influence.

Noboa has responded with militarised crackdowns, deploying the armed forces onto the streets and tightening security at key infrastructure hubs.

The president’s security strategy has drawn comparisons to El Salvador’s controversial anti-gang measures, which have been praised by some for reducing crime but condemned by rights groups over mass detentions and alleged abuses.

Noboa has cited El Salvador, as well as the United States and Israel, as strategic partners in Ecuador’s security overhaul.

His administration has also hired Erik Prince, founder of private military contractor Blackwater, to advise Ecuadorian security forces, a move that has raised alarm among opposition politicians and human rights advocates, who warn of creeping militarisation and lack of oversight.

While Noboa has claimed a 15 percent drop in violent deaths during 2024, government figures show a 58 percent increase in killings during the first four months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, with 3,094 recorded deaths.