The administration of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has asked lawmakers to weigh an increase in value-added tax (VAT) to fund efforts to combat criminal groups, as the armed forces stepped up operations in violent zones on Friday. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
Since the beginning of the week, Ecuador has seen a dramatic surge in violence. According to local media, the local mafia is on the rampage. President Noboa, who took office in November, declared a state of emergency and named 22 gangs responsible for terrorist attacks in the country. The government blames the deteriorating security situation on increased drug trafficking through Ecuador, which borders Colombia and Peru, where cocaine is produced. Thus, Ecuador has become the main point of drug delivery.
Security in Ecuador has rapidly deteriorated along with serious economic problems. As the country struggles with internal liquidity issues, limited external financing options and tens of billions in external debt.
Noboa's proposal to increase the tax has already been sent to the National Assembly on Thursday evening. It provides for a three-point increase in VAT to 15%. The bill is classified as urgent and must be approved within 30 days.
Lawmakers - in a rare show of unity - have already approved two urgent proposals from the Noboa government, another tax bill aimed at increasing youth employment and a law designed to attract investment in the electricity sector.
The current security crisis in Ecuador emphasizes the urgency of increasing the potential tax collection for the state. A VAT increase would provide the government with a permanent source of revenue.
According to the Presidential Office there, this measure could bring in more than $1.3 billion a year to the treasury if it comes into effect in March.
The document states that all the funds from this tax will be used to finance weapons and equipment for the security forces and improve the penitentiary system, as well as to pay regional governments.
Until the law is passed, the military is working. They have already announced on social media that they have stepped up operations in several provinces, arresting gang members and seizing weapons.
The Prosecutor General's Office reported that three people were detained on charges of preparing an attack on the head of the national police, without providing further details. The police did not comment on the matter.
In turn, the Government of Ecuador has stated that the country will check people entering the country through its borders with Peru and Colombia, in particular, for criminal records, during the state of emergency.
Optional
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has already presented details of two new maximum security prisons.
He detailed plans to build two new prisons as part of his promise to wage war on the drug mafia.
According to Naboa's office, both facilities are planned to be built in the provinces of Pastaza and Santa Elena. They will have space for 736 inmates, divided between high security, maximum security and supermaximum security.
The construction of the facilities "is the beginning of an urgent rehabilitation of the penitentiary system," Noboa said. He added that stricter laws, honest judges and the ability to extradite wanted criminals are also needed.
This week's dramatic surge in violence, including the storming of a live television station, unexplained explosions in several cities, and kidnappings of police officers, appears to be a response to Noboa's plans to deal with the dire security.
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Recall
On January 7, the drug lord of one of the Los Choneros groups, Adolfo Macias, escaped from prison. He was supposed to be transferred to a maximum security prison that day. The next day, the authorities reported the incident and charged two prison guards.
On Monday, January 8, the President of Ecuador declared a 60-day state of emergency, which gave the authorities the power to suspend people's rights and allowed them to mobilize the military in prisons.
On Tuesday, January 9, masked men stormed into the set of an Ecuadorian public television station, brandishing weapons and explosives, during a live broadcast. President Daniel Noboa issued a decree declaring that an "internal armed conflict" had begun in the country.
On Thursday, January 11, the Ecuadorian military and police reported that they had detained 329 members of criminal gangs and killed 5 more since the outbreak of armed unrest in the country.