President promotes three Air Force colonels to brigadier general

The President of the Republic, Daniel Noboa Azín, promoted three colonels of the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) to the rank of brigadier general, effective October 27, 2026. The measure is contained in Executive Decree No. 525, signed at the National Palace in Quito on October 27, 2026, and published in the Official Registry, Sixth Supplement No. 401, on Friday, October 30, 2026, on page 7.

The promotion occurred after the General Officers Council of the Ecuadorian Air Force resolved to select the three officers in Article 1 of Resolution No. FA-COGFAE-2026-064, dated October 22, 2026. The process documentation was forwarded to the Executive by the Ministry of National Defense via official letter No. MDN-MDN-2026-2247-OF, dated October 23, 2026.

The three promoted officers

Article 1 of the decree mandates the promotion, effective October 27, 2026, of the following officers from the 43rd Class of line and technical officers of the “Cosme Rennella Barbatto” Superior Military School:

• COL. EMC AVC. Diego Mauricio González Terán, from the XLIII class of line officers.
• COL. EMT. AVC. Héctor Javier Caizaluisa Armas, from the XLIII class of technical officers.
• COL. EMT. AVC. Juan Carlos Solano Abril, from the XLIII class of technical officers.

Article 2 entrusts the execution of the decree to the Ministry of National Defense, and the regulation entered into force from the date of its signing, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Registry. The certification of copy fidelity was signed in Quito on October 29, 2026, by the legal general secretary of the Presidency, Atty. Aldrin Fernando Gómez Valdiviezo.

Legal basis of the appointment

The decree is based on Article 147, numerals 5 and 16, of the Constitution of the Republic, which empower the President to direct the public administration in a decentralized manner and to exercise the highest authority of the Armed Forces. It also invokes constitutional Article 160, which subjects military promotions and advancements to specific laws based on merit and gender equity criteria.

In the legal sphere, Executive Decree No. 525 cites Article 21, numeral 1, of the Organic Law of Personnel and Discipline of the Armed Forces, which reserves the granting of rank to general officers for executive decree. Furthermore, it is supported by Articles 31, 32, 126, 133, 134, 137, and 138 of the same law, relating to the powers of the General Officers Council, the common and specific requirements for promotion, and the adherence to organic vacancies and annual quotas per class.

A change in the force’s leadership

The promotion of the three colonels adds to other recent movements in military leadership. On September 21, 2026, the Official Registry published in its Second Supplement No. 373 Executive Decree No. 496, which appointed Brigadier General Mauro Enrique Pablo Julián Bedoya Avilés as General Commander of the Air Force. In the same issue, Col. Emc. Luis Fernando Pillajo García, of the Ecuadorian Army, promotion No. 91 of the branch, was promoted to brigadier general.

With the three new brigadier generals, the Ecuadorian Air Force incorporates into its general officers scale one branch officer and two technical officers, in a decision that the Executive adopted in direct exercise of its authority over the top leadership of the Armed Forces.

Impact for readers

The incorporation of three brigadier generals into the FAE expands the leadership of a force that, in recent weeks, also received delegations from the Executive for procurement processes of unmanned aerial systems and spare parts for its aircraft. Executive Decree No. 525 provides public record, in the Official Registry, of who has integrated the institution’s general officer level since October 27, 2026, and under which resolutions of the Council of General Officers they were selected.

Source: Official Registry, Sixth Supplement No. 401, October 30, 2026, section I, p. 7 (official reference: Executive Decree No. 525).