Daniel Noboa has been President of Ecuador since November 2023. The youngest democratically elected state leader in the world, Noboa has had a highly tumultuous introduction to high office.

In January this year, violent crime in Ecuador, which had been increasing for nearly a decade, reached a terrible crescendo when two of the country’s gang leaders escaped from prison, and a series of armed attacks, including bombings, were inflicted on prisons, markets and TV stations. The result was a declaration of a state of emergency by Noboa’s government, only six weeks old at the time.

To try and fight these forces, Noboa has reached out to the US, painting himself as a defender of democracy. As you’re about to hear, the US has given Noboa some considerable leeway in how he has prosecuted Ecuador’s war on the gangs.

My guest today is Isabel Chiriboga. Isabel is an assistant director at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, where she contributes to the center’s work on the Andes, including on Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and Peru. She is also a frequent opinion contributor, and her work has been published in Foreign Policy, Miami Herald, the National Interest, Global Americans, and the New Atlanticist.