The nighttime curfew imposed on Sunday by right-wing President Daniel Noboa in nine of 24 provinces bans people from being outdoors between 11:00 pm (0400 GMT) and 05:00 am (1000 GMT).

It applies to the provinces of Pichincha, where the capital Quito is located, and Guayas, home to the port of Guayaquil, a major cocaine-trafficking hub.

More than 50,000 soldiers and police officers armed with rifles were deployed in the streets, their faces covered with balaclavas.

Armored vehicles patrolled the cities of Quito and Guayaquil and the military also set up checkpoints.

Police chief Pablo Davila told the Teleamazonas channel that 124 people were arrested on the first day of the curfew, mostly for violating the stay-at-home order.

Around 70 percent of the drugs produced by Colombia and Peru, the world's largest and second-largest cocaine producers, respectively, are shipped through neighboring Ecuador.

The drug trade has unleashed a bloody turf war that has turned one of Latin America's safest countries into one of its deadliest in the space of a few years.

Apart from drug trafficking, the gangs also vie for control of extortion and illegal mining rackets.

Noboa has declared "war" on the gangs and joined a 17-country cartel-fighting alliance launched by US President Donald Trump.

Shop owners in Quito and Guayaquil complained that the curfew was impacting business.

"We support the fight against criminals, but we are suffering losses," a young liquor store owner in northern Quito told AFP, declining to give his name because he feared for his safety.