Ecuador Sets April 21 Referendum on Tightening Security

2024-02-14

源 稿 窗
在文章中双击或划词查词典
字号 +
字号 -
 折叠显示 
 全文显示 
QUITO, ECUADOR —Ecuador's electoral court set April 21 for a referendum on measures to tighten security, fight organized crime and reform the constitution, it said on Wednesday, amid worsening conflict between government forces and criminal gangs.

The steps have been proposed by President Daniel Noboa, who launched a security offensive in early January to dismantle criminal groups he designated as terrorists. Noboa has also argued for legal reforms to expand the powers of Ecuador's police and military.

Ecuadoreans will vote on 11 questions, five of which concern reforms to the country's constitution, the National Electoral Council said in a statement.

Noboa had previously hoped to hold the referendum in March. Questions will seek approval to impose stricter gun controls in areas close to jails and increase prison sentences for organized crime offenses, among others.

Ecuador, long a haven for foreign retirees, has been gripped by spiraling violence since the coronavirus pandemic battered the South American country's economy.

Armed men stormed a TV-station on air last month and a presidential candidate was gunned down as he left a rally during last year's elections, while hundreds of inmates have been killed in prison riots.

Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.