GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — Electoral officials in the South American country have declared President Daniel Noboa the winner of the closely run election, a little more than 3 hours after polls closed.
With more than 90 percent of the vote counted, Noboa, a close ally of President Trump has an insurmountable lead. He has been in power since November 2023 after winning a snap election.
His challenger, 47-year-old former lawmaker and lawyer Luisa González is claiming fraud, but has not produced evidence for this. The protégé of Ecuador's exiled former leftist and polarizing leader, González told supporters in Quito the fraud was "massive" and she will fight the results and demanded a national recount.
The election took place as the country is experiencing unprecedented violence tied to the cocaine trade. Ecuador's alarming homicide rate, one of the highest now in Latin America, weighed heavily on voters. In the first two months of this year one homicide per hour was registered.
Transnational drug cartels, working with local recruits, have turned many cities into battlegrounds as they fight for lucrative trafficking routes to the U.S. and Europe.
Noboa, the 37-year-old son of one of Ecuador's richest men, has employed an iron fist approach to the violence, declaring a state of emergency and deploying the military.
This victory now means he has a full four year mandate to continue his self-described "war" on narco gangs. He signed a security agreement with Erik Prince, founder of the disgraced former U.S. defense contractor Blackwater and has proposed changing the constitution to allow foreign military bases in the country again.
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