Amid a backdrop of heightened security, Ecuador’s presidential contender Daniel Noboa is making bold pledges, donning a bulletproof vest and surrounded by security personnel.

He firmly commits to incarcerating convicts on maritime prison vessels as a strategy in the nation’s “war” against drug traffickers, Yahoo News reported.

At 35 years old, Noboa is intensely campaigning as he prepares for an October runoff, which is significantly shaped by the escalating lawlessness that has gripped the formerly tranquil nation, now emerging as a focal point in the global drug trade.

“Groups of narco-terrorists are involved here. We are living through a war,” Noboa conveyed to AFP, conducting an interview from within a heavily guarded vehicle in the city of Salinas.

Amid the backdrop of such heightened security measures, the specter of violence hovers around the candidate, especially in the aftermath of the assassination of a prominent presidential contender merely two weeks before the initial round of voting on August 21, during which Noboa secured the second position.

Written by staff