Ecuadorans split over Noboa's win amid 'fraud' claims and optimism: Video

Ecuador's reelected president, Daniel Noboa, faced the herculean task of uniting his violence-struck nation Monday, after his leftist rival called his victory into question.

With almost 98 percent of the votes counted after Sunday's election, Noboa won 56 percent of the vote, against Luisa Gonzalez's weaker-than-expected 44 percent. The result appeared to be a thumping endorsement of Noboa's "iron fist" approach to drug gangs and a stinging rejection of Gonzalez's links with an exiled, populist firebrand ex-president accused of corruption.

The once-peaceful nation averaged a killing every hour at the start of the year as cartels vied for control over cocaine routes that pass through Ecuador's ports. In the volcano-ringed capital Quito, Noboa's supporters celebrated his victory late into the night with fireworks and amped-up convoys of cars blaring infectious tecnocumbia.

US President Donald Trump was among the first to congratulate the 37-year-old president on his reelection, calling him a "great leader" and telling Ecuadorians," he will not let you down!"