Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso is again making use of the executive's power to suspend some people's rights and to mobilize the military in an attempt to quell the most recent wave of violence that has left at least 18 people dead in the South American country.
Lasso on Tuesday declared a state of emergency covering all of its prisons and ordered the deployment of 2,700 soldiers and police officers to regain control of the facilities. Less than 24 hours earlier, Lasso had announced an emergency measure suspending people's rights to assembly and move freely in two provinces, one of which includes a city where a mayor was fatally shot over the weekend.
