Ecuador: Militarization Continues and the Armed Forces Still Refuse to Cooperate

One year after the publication of the report “It was the military. I Saw Them“, which documented the enforced disappearance of 10 people from the Ecuadorian coast, including six minors, in the context of President Daniel Noboa’s so-called Phoenix Plan, there have been some important developments. Nevertheless, the lack of cooperation by the Armed Forces in criminal investigations and the deepening of the policy of militarization of the public security continue to be the main obstacles preventing all victims’ families from obtaining truth, justice, and reparation, and from ensuring the non-repetition of these crimes, Amnesty International stated today.

“The progress achieved over the past year demonstrates that it is possible to respond to the demands for truth and justice made by the families, civil society, and international mechanisms. Yet this progress remains insufficient as long as many of those families continue not knowing what happened to their loved ones and the military authorities continue to withhold essential information for the investigations,” said Ana Piquer, Regional Director for the Americas of Amnesty International.

The progress achieved over the past year demonstrates that it is possible to respond to the demands for truth and justice made by the families, civil society, and international mechanisms.”

Ana Piquer, Regional Director for the Americas of Amnesty International.

In December 2025, a court of first instance convicted 16 military personnel for the enforced disappearance of four boys from the Las Malvinas neighborhood, in the south of the city of Guayaquil. In February 2026, the Constitutional Court issued a landmark ruling requiring the Air Force commander to issue a public apology to the boys’ families in an event that was broadcast live. In turn, in May 2026, a judge confirmed that Dave Loor and Juan Santillán had been victims of enforced disappearance, as part of the ruling on a habeas corpus petition filed by their families, which had been appealed by the Armed Forces.

Between January and August 2026, following precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in favor of 26 disappeared persons and six women searching for their loved ones, the Office of the Attorney General established working groups in the provinces of Guayas and Los Ríos, where the highest number of enforced disappearances in the country are concentrated. The purpose of these working groups is to facilitate dialogue between various authorities and the victims’ families, in order to expedite the search for the disappeared people and the criminal investigations. The advocacy efforts of the victims’ families, the support of the local organization Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDH Guayaquil), and international mobilization have been key to achieving all these advances.

Despite this progress, the whereabouts of the vast majority of victims of enforced disappearance remain unknown, and their families continue to await answers. The main obstacle continues to be the lack of cooperation by the Ministry of Defense with the criminal investigations being conducted by the Office of the Attorney General. In particular, the Ministry has refused to share information regarding the security operations after which the victims disappeared, claiming that such information is confidential.

The CDH Guayaquil filed an appeal before the Constitutional Court in September requesting the declassification of the information. Amnesty International supports this initiative and recalls that the classification of information related to human rights violations is contrary to the obligations under international law assumed by Ecuador and to international standards, as it violates the right of victims and their families to know the truth.

For their part, families constantly face challenges in having their rights respected and have suffered further violations. Several have reported harassment and acts of intimidation by the Armed Forces. This is despite the fact that most of them are part of the Office of the Attorney General’s victim and witness protection system.

In addition, during 2026, Ecuador deepened its military and security cooperation with the United States in efforts to combat drug trafficking. This has led to new allegations of possible serious human rights violations and crimes under international law in joint operations and in operations allegedly led by U.S. authorities. Amnesty International documented an attack on an Ecuadorian vessel in this context, in which the whereabouts of its crew members remain unknown.

“The State must guarantee truth, justice, and reparation for all victims and their families, and reverse a militarized security strategy that has proven ineffective in reducing crime rates and has been accompanied by serious human rights violations. Only through full respect for people’s rights can a safer Ecuador be built,” said Ana Piquer.

The State must guarantee truth, justice, and reparation for all victims and their families, and reverse a militarized security strategy that has proven ineffective in reducing crime rates and has been accompanied by serious human rights violations.”

Ana Piquer, Regional Director for the Americas of Amnesty International.

Amnesty International reiterates its call on the Ecuadorian authorities to guarantee access to truth, justice, and reparation for all families affected by enforced disappearances, recalling that this is a crime under international law. The organization also reiterates its call to reverse the militarized approach to public security. This approach has not been effective in reducing violence in the country and, on the contrary, has facilitated the commission of serious crimes under international law and human rights violations.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact press@amnesty.org

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