Ecuador court suspends president's order seeking new constitution

Ecuador's constitutional court on Saturday suspended a decree by which the president sought to create a special body to toughen laws against drug trafficking and organized crime.

The suspension remains in effect while the court evaluates five claims of unconstitutionality, and deepens the crisis between President Daniel Noboa and the court, which has stymied several of his policies on rights grounds.

"The Court is not the enemy of the people. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the guardian of their rights," said the court, which has faced massive protests led by the president, in a statement.

Noboa on Wednesday proposed a referendum be held to approve the creation of a Constituent Assembly to draw up a new constitution, with stricter laws to tackle drug gangs. The new document would, in turn, also be put to a referendum.

The president has made several attempts to circumvent the court and call directly for a popular vote without prior review by the judges on the formation of a Constituent Assembly.

Nestled between the world's biggest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador is the departure point for 70 percent of the world's supply of the drug, attracting criminal gangs from all over.

Noboa, an ally of US President Donald Trump, was reelected in April as voters endorsed his iron-fisted approach to rampant cartel violence that has transformed the country from one of Latin America's safest to one of its most dangerous.