{"id":31823,"date":"2024-04-21T09:16:57","date_gmt":"2024-04-21T09:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/21\/in-a-country-awash-in-violence-a-vote-will-test-its-leaders-hard-line-stance\/"},"modified":"2024-04-21T09:16:57","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T09:16:57","slug":"in-a-country-awash-in-violence-a-vote-will-test-its-leaders-hard-line-stance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/21\/in-a-country-awash-in-violence-a-vote-will-test-its-leaders-hard-line-stance\/","title":{"rendered":"In a Country Awash in Violence, a Vote Will Test Its Leader\u2019s Hard-Line Stance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ecuadoreans will vote on Sunday in a referendum that could give their center-right president greater powers to combat drug-related gang violence and also gauge how he would fare in his bid for re-election next year.<\/p>\n

President Daniel Noboa, the 36-year-old heir to a banana empire, took office in November<\/a> after an election season focused on drug-related gang violence<\/a>, which has surged over the past five years to levels not seen in decades.<\/p>\n

In January, he declared an \u201cinternal armed conflict<\/a>\u201d and directed the military to \u201cneutralize\u201d the country\u2019s roughly two dozen gangs, which the government labeled \u201cterrorist organizations.\u201d The drastic move allowed soldiers to patrol the streets and prisons, many of which have come under gang control<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, Mr. Noboa took the extraordinary step of arresting an Ecuadorean politician facing a prison sentence<\/a> who had taken refuge at the Mexican Embassy in Quito, in what experts called a violation of an international treaty on the sanctity of diplomatic posts. The move drew widespread condemnation across the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n