17/01/24 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 17 January in Strasbourg, the main political groups in the European Parliament spoke out in favour of restoring law and order in Ecuador, particularly in Guayaquil, the country’s main port, after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa imposed a state of emergency aimed at combating drug-related gang violence (see EUROPE 13326/23). Some, such as Hermann Tertsch (ECR, Spanish) were more critical of the attempt to destabilise the country through what he called “narco-socialism”, citing the examples of Colombia and Venezuela. Others, such as Miguel Urbán Crespo (The Left, Spanish), condemned the “punitive state”, which would take advantage of legitimate violence to oppress disadvantaged social groups. On behalf of the European Commission, Adina-Ioana Vălean called for increased security cooperation between the European Union and Ecuador via the bilateral memorandum of understanding signed in July 2023 (see EUROPE 13224/1). (MB)