Daniel Noboa, Ecuador President: A war on gangs

The Interview

BBC

News, Government, Politics

4.3 • 537 Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“This is a war. We will treat it as a war, and first thing that we want is the war to end. We want peace. We want a better life for our people, especially for our youth.”

Caitriona Perry speaks to Ecuador President Daniel Noboa about his hard-line military crackdown on violent criminal gangs, which has involved measures that human rights groups warn could pose a risk to civil liberties.

President Noboa, who is one of the world’s youngest leaders, has warned about the levels of crime faced in Ecuador. He claims that due to its location between Colombia and Peru, the world's two largest producers of cocaine, it has become a major location for drug-trafficking gangs.

He talks about the attempts that have been made on his life, and the threats his family have faced. He calls on the cooperation from other countries to help fight international crime organisations. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Volodymyr Zelensky, Azar Nafisi and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Caitriona Perry Producer: Ellyn Duncan, Chloe Ross and Cordelia Hemming Editor: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Daniel Noboa. Credit: Getty)

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.
0:05.7	Hello, I'm Katrina Perry, the BBC's chief presenter based in Washington, D.C.
0:11.5	And this is The Interview from the BBC World Service, the best conversations coming out of the BBC.
0:19.1	People shaping our world from all over the world.
0:23.9	If you're not a little bit afraid, then you're not paying attention.
0:28.5	We have never seen a people so united.
0:32.1	Do not make that boat crossing. Do not make that journey.
0:34.8	Being born in America, feeling American, having people treat me like I'm not.
0:38.9	We're more popular than populism.
0:42.0	For this interview, I met the president of Ecuador, Daniel Naboa, who was in Washington, D.C. for talks with politicians here.
0:50.7	Mr. Naboa became Ecuador's youngest leader when he first won the presidency in 2023 at the age of 35.
0:58.5	He went on to be re-elected last year, following his hardline military crackdown on violent criminal gangs.
1:05.9	Human rights groups, though, have warned that these measures could pose risks to civil liberties.
1:12.6	Ecuador's location, sandwiched between Colombia and Peru, the world's two largest
1:17.4	producers of cocaine, makes it a lucrative location for drug trafficking gangs.
1:23.1	President Naboa has warned about the levels of crime faced in Ecuador, with around 70% of the world's cocaine now flowing through the country's ports.
1:33.8	In our conversation, he talks about the issue of safety in Ecuador,
1:38.1	and he tells me cooperation from other countries is essential
1:41.6	in the fight against international crime organizations.
1:45.8	It is an uphill battle, but it's a battle that we need to fight it.
1:52.5	We need to fight it for our kids, for the future generations.
1:55.7	It's a sacrifice.
	...

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