Ecuador deports five Colombians and three Venezuelans in migration crackdown

Ecuador deported five Colombians and three Venezuelans during a migration-control operation in southern Quito, including a Colombian man wanted in his country for aggravated theft.

The operation took place in La Michelena and was carried out by the Migration Undersecretariat in coordination with the National Police. Authorities identified the Colombian man as someone sought by Colombian justice authorities.

An exchange of information with Colombian authorities confirmed that the man faced an arrest warrant issued by Bogotá’s Court for the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures. Ecuador’s Interior Ministry announced the operation on its X account.

The other four Colombians and three Venezuelans were deported because they fell under “different grounds for deportation established in the Organic Law on Human Mobility.” The ministry did not specify the reason in each case.

Police and armed forces also carried out several control operations in the same area on Sunday. Those operations led, among other results, to nine arrests, the closure of seven commercial premises and the seizure of several quantities of drugs. President Daniel Noboa announced on Aug. 3 that 4,000 additional police officers and soldiers would be deployed in Quito to strengthen operations against organized crime, following complaints of increased robberies and the discovery of a body hanging from a bridge on July 29.