LatinNews Daily - 17 September 2026

*A two-week period of night-time curfews has begun in the western Ecuadorean provinces of Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, and El Oro. Interior Minister John Reimberg previously said on 11 September that the only people exempt from the curfew, which will run from midnight to 5am from 17-30 September, are emergency service workers, prosecutors, lawyers attending flagrancy hearings, and accredited media workers who must be accompanied by law enforcement. In an article published today (17 September), national daily El Comercio cited Ernesto Vásquez, vice president of the Guayas night-time economy association, Asociación de Centros Nocturnos del Guayas, as saying that affiliated businesses are expecting economic losses of up to 50% during the curfews. On the other hand, the article cited Holbach Muñetón, the president of tourism association Federación Nacional de Cámaras de Turismo del Ecuador, as saying that the curfews would have a more limited impact and could improve the tourism sector’s prospects in the long run by creating stronger perceptions of security. This is the latest round of curfews imposed by President Daniel Noboa’s government as part of his war on crime, and will see intensified security operations in affected areas, including by military personnel. The latest restrictions on movement come after curfews were imposed in nine provinces for two weeks in May, and in four provinces for a further two weeks in March. Guayas, Los Ríos, and El Oro have been the most impacted by the curfews, facing restrictions on all three occasions, while Manabí and the western province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas have been hit with two rounds of curfews.

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