Ecuadorians wanted an action man. President Noboa has fulfilled that role — embassy raid included

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — While world leaders have expressed shock and bewilderment over Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa’s decision to raid Mexico’s embassy last Friday, the extraordinarily unusual move — and Noboa's relative silence about it — is unlikely to hurt him with his constituents. In fact, it’s exactly the sort of no-holds-barred crimefighting they expect and voted for.

Ecuadorians were looking for their action man last election, fed up with widespread corruption and the robberies, kidnappings, extortions and murders fueled by the growing presence of international drug cartels. Noboa, often sporting bulletproof vests, sunglasses and leather jackets as well as the occasional smart-casual white T-shirt, so far seems to be fulfilling that role. If stopping lawbreakers in their tracks means breaching an embassy, then so be it, Ecuadorians interviewed over the weekend told The Associated Press.

“President Noboa has given a strong message to the nation," said Carlos Galecio, a political communications consultant and coordinator of the communications program at Ecuador's Casa Grande University. “(It's) a very powerful image boost.”

Noboa, the 36-year-old heir to one of Ecuador's largest fortunes, was sworn in as president in November after unexpectedly winning a special election in August. He defeated the protege of leftist ex-President Rafael Correa, who avoided serving a prison sentence related to a corruption conviction by moving to Belgium and securing asylum there.

Noboa inherited a country where people no longer leave home unless absolutely necessary, almost everyone knows a crime victim and many consider migrating. Statistics back those decisions and experiences: Last year was Ecuador’s bloodiest on record, with more than 7,600 homicides — up from 4,600 the prior year.

The causes for the spike are complex but largely revolve around cocaine. Cartel-aided gangs are battling for control of the streets, prisons and drug routes to the Pacific. Dwindling state coffers, soaring debts, political infighting and corruption created funding gaps in social and law-enforcement programs. And the COVID-19 pandemic turned hungry children and unemployed adults into easy recruits for criminal groups.

Noboa has responded by promising more equipment for police and the armed forces and the construction of prisons similar to those President Nayib Bukele built in El Salvador, with high-security, maximum-security and supermax units. He also issued a decree labeling more than 20 criminal groups as terrorist organizations and scheduled an April referendum to ask voters to extend the powers of the military to patrol the streets and control prisons.

Recent survey results from Ecuador-based public opinion firm Cedatos showed that more than two-thirds of respondents approve of Noboa's presidency and more than half support his decision to summon voters to the polls.

Police entered the Mexican embassy in Quito, the capital, to arrest former Vice President Jorge Glas, a convicted criminal and fugitive who had been living there since December. In his first comments on the operation, Noboa said Monday he has made “exceptional decisions to protect national security, the rule of law and the dignity of a population that rejects any type of impunity for criminals, corrupt people or narco-terrorists.”

“My obligation is to comply with the rulings of the justice system, and we could not allow sentenced criminals involved in very serious crimes to be given asylum,” which, Noboa argued, would violate the Vienna Convention and other international accords. In a statement posted on the social platform X, Noboa did not mention Glas by name but suggested he was in “imminent flight risk.”

Diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil and “inviolable” under the Vienna treaties and host country law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter without permission from the ambassador. Mexico plans to challenge the raid at the World Court in The Hague.

Still, Noboa's display of force quickly earned him praise at home.

“I am in favor of President Noboa’s actions. I think it is a courageous act ... and I think it is going to strengthen him,” college professor Gabriela Sandoval said. “The priority is to clean, sanitize, continue with a process as important as President Noboa's to put the house in order.”

Ecuadorians will vote for president in February. Noboa is eligible to run for reelection.

Confidence in Noboa is such that business groups think the global condemnation of the raid will not impact commerce or the already thorny trade agreement negotiations between Ecuador and Mexico, which represent a key barrier to Ecuador's interest in joining Latin America's Pacific Alliance trade bloc.

“These political and current issues will somehow pass, and then, relations will go back to normal,” said Roberto Aspiazu, vice president of the Binational Ecuador-Mexico Chamber. “Sooner or later, that trade agreement is also going to be a reality because the negotiation is there and must be resumed at some point.”

Still, the timing of the diplomatic breakdown with Mexico could be particularly unfortunate for Ecuador and counterproductive for Noboa’s crimefighting ambitions, said Will Freeman, a fellow of Latin American studies at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

Ecuador was one of the calmest countries in Latin America until about four years ago, when Mexican and Colombian cartels expanded their established Ecuadorian operations, settling into coastal cities and exploiting world-class ports to ship hundreds of millions of dollars of cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru.

“Ecuadorian gangs are criminal powers in their own right, but they have brokered alliances with Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartel cartels,” Freeman said. “In an ideal world, Noboa would seek out the Mexican government’s cooperation to combat the gangs and their international partners, but clearly, with the break in diplomatic relations, that’s not happening.”

And though it remains unclear whether Noboa expected the global pushback his decision received, some of that criticism might weigh more heavily than others.

The U.S., which during Noboa's administration has supplied Ecuador with crucial equipment and training to combat the drug cartels, reiterated the importance of complying with international law following last week's raid.

“The United States takes very seriously the obligation of host countries under international law to respect diplomatic missions,” said Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. “We encourage Ecuador and Mexico to resolve their difference amicably.”

Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.

Police stand guard at the entrance of the penitentiary where former Vice President Jorge Glas is being held, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Ecuadorian police broke through the external doors of the Mexican Embassy in Quito, Friday evening, to arrest Glas, who had been residing there since December. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)

A supporter of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas protests as a military vehicle transports him from the detention center he was held following his arrest at the Mexican Embassy in Quito Ecuador, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Glas, who held the vice presidency of Ecuador between 2013 and 2018, was convicted of corruption and had been taking refuge in the embassy since December. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

A military vehicle transports former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas from the detention center where he was held after police broke into the Mexican Embassy to arrest him in Quito, Ecuador, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Glas, who held the vice presidency of Ecuador between 2013 and 2018, was convicted of corruption and had been taking refuge in the embassy since December. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa).

A supporter of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas stands outside the detention center where he was taken after police broke into the Mexican Embassy to arrest him, in Quito, Ecuador, Saturday, April 6, 2024. Glas, who held the vice presidency of Ecuador between 2013 and 2018, was convicted of corruption and had been taking refuge in the Mexican embassy since December. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Police attempt to break into the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 5, 2024, following Mexico's granting of asylum to former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had sought refuge there. Police later forcibly broke into the embassy through another entrance. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

President Daniel Noboa arrives for an event with youths in El Quinche, Ecuador, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

HOUSTON (AP) — Heavy storms slammed the Houston area again Friday, widening already dangerous flooding in Texas and leading to numerous high-water rescues, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes. Officials redoubled urgent instructions for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, warning the worst was still to come.

“This threat is ongoing and it’s going to get worse. It is not your typical river flood,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in the nation’s third-largest county.

She described the surge of water as “catastrophic” and said several hundred structures were at risk of flooding. There had already been at least two dozen water rescues in the county, in addition to getting 30 pets to safety. Schools in the path of the flooding canceled classes and roads jammed as authorities closed highways taking on water.

For weeks, drenching rains in Texas and parts of Louisiana have filled reservoirs and saturated the ground. Floodwaters partially submerged cars and roads this week across parts of southeastern Texas, north of Houston, where high waters reached the roofs of some homes.

More than 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain fell during a 24 hour period that ended Friday morning in the northern Houston suburb of Spring, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a flood warning until Tuesday for the region.

In the rural community of Shepherd, Gilroy Fernandes said he and his spouse had about an hour to evacuate after a mandatory order. Their home is on stilts near the Trinity River, and they felt relief when the water began to recede on Thursday.

Then the danger grew while they slept.

“Next thing you know, overnight they started releasing more water from the dam at Livingston. And so that caused the level of the river to shoot up by almost five or six feet overnight,” Fernandes said. Neighbors who left an hour later got stuck in traffic because of flooding.

In Montgomery County, Judge Mark Keough said there had been more high-water rescues than he was able to count.

“We estimate we’ve had a couple hundred rescues from homes, from houses, from vehicles,” Keough said.

In Polk County, located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Houston, officials have done over 100 water rescues in the past few days, said Polk County Emergency Management Coordinator Courtney Comstock.

She said homes below Lake Livingston Dam and along the Trinity River have flooded.

“It’ll be when things subside before we can do our damage assessment,” Comstock said.

Authorities in Houston had not reported any deaths or injuries. The city of more than 2 million people is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country and has long experience dealing with devastating weather.

Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped historic rainfall on the area, flooding thousands of homes and resulting in more than 60,000 rescues by government rescue personnel across Harris County.

In Crosby, school officials said the driver of a school bus carrying 27 students stopped his vehicle just before driving into high water Friday. The students exited through a rear door and were taken to campuses on another bus. “I am proud of the quick action of our bus driver,” Crosby school district Superintendent Paula Patterson said.

Of particular concern was an area along the San Jacinto River in the northeastern part of Harris County, which was expected to continue rising as more rain falls and officials release extra water from an already full reservoir. Judge Hidalgo on Thursday issued a mandatory evacuation order for those living along portions of the river.

In some areas along the river, “it’s too late to evacuate preemptively & folks are being assisted off their rooftops,” Hidalgo wrote Friday afternoon in a post on X. She said residents west or south of the area still had time to leave or “otherwise, prepare to stay in place for 2-3 days.”

Most of Houston's city limits were not heavily impacted by the weather, except for the northeastern neighborhood of Kingwood. Officials said the area had about four months of rain in about a week's time. Houston Mayor John Whitmire said rising flood waters from the San Jacinto River were expected to impact Kingwood late Friday and Saturday.

“The water is coming this way. ... We have time to prepare. But a few hours from now it will be impassable,” Whitmire said, speaking from a fire station in Kingwood.

Shelters have opened across the region, including nine by the American Red Cross.

The weather service reported the river was above 69 feet (21.03 meters) around noon Friday and expected to crest at 78 feet (23.77 meters) Friday night. The is expected to fall below flood stage of 58 feet (17.68 meters) Tuesday afternoon, according to the weather service.

In the city of Conroe, just north of Houston, rescuers drove boats into neighborhood subdivisions to rescue people and pets from their homes, then carrying them from the boats to higher ground. In nearby Livingston, neighborhoods were flooded, with water rising to the windshields of moving vans and above the bottom of windows of some buildings.

Storms over the past month in southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana have dumped more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.

The greater Houston area covers about 10,000 square miles — a footprint slightly bigger than New Jersey. It is crisscrossed by about 1,700 miles (2,736 kilometers) of channels, creeks and bayous that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles (about 80 kilometers) to the southeast from downtown.

The city's system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain heavy rains. But engineering initially designed nearly 100 years ago has struggled to keep up with the city’s growth and bigger storms.

Associated Press reporters Ken Miller in Edmond, Oklahoma, and Jim Vertuno in Austin, and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.

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A woman reacts as she and others are evacuated by boat from their homes by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Conroe, Texas. Torrential rain is inundating southeastern Texas, forcing schools to cancel classes and closing numerous highways around Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A woman is handed her child after being evacuated by boat from her homes with the help of deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Conroe, Texas. Torrential rain is inundating southeastern Texas, forcing schools to cancel classes and closing numerous highways around Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A child in a car seat is taken out of a boat as residents are evacuated by boat from their homes by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Conroe, Texas. Torrential rain is inundating southeastern Texas, forcing schools to cancel classes and closing numerous highways around Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Emergency workers with Caney Creek Fire and Rescue carry a dog from a flooded area in the River Plantation area of Conroe, Texas Friday, May 3, 2024. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)/

A woman is rescued by airboat from her home by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies on River Plantation Drive, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Conroe, Texas. Torrential rain is inundating southeastern Texas, forcing schools to cancel classes and closing numerous highways around Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A pickup truck maneuvers a residential street filled with water in Woodloch, Texas, subdivision near The Woodlands as floodwaters rise Friday, May 3, 2024. Torrential rain is inundating southeastern Texas, forcing schools to cancel classes and closing numerous highways around Houston. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A man carries his dogs rescued by boat from his home by Caney Creek Fire and Rescue on River Plantation Drive, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Conroe, Texas. Torrential rain is inundating southeastern Texas, forcing schools to cancel classes and closing numerous highways around Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Family members survey the damage after a tree fell on the home of Monica Ramirez during a severe storm, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Spring, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A helicopter flies above the San Jacinto River, which rose out of its banks in the aftermath of a severe storm, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Conroe, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Conroe firefighter Cody Leroy carries a resident evacuated in a boat by the CFD Rapid Intervention Team from her flooded home in the aftermath of a severe storm, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Conroe, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)