Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa used his State of the Union address to the National Assembly in Quito on Sunday to highlight his security crackdown, citing the extradition of a dozen crime bosses to the United States and the seizure of nearly 300 tonnes of drugs. Ecuador has recorded its highest homicide rate in decades — roughly 50 murders per 100,000 residents — as rival cartels battle for control of cocaine smuggling routes through the country, which borders the world's two largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru. Noboa also reported a fall in poverty from 26 percent to 21.4 percent, though analysts and civil society groups cautioned that the government's iron-fisted approach has yet to meaningfully reduce violence and risks endangering civilians.