QUITO, Equador
Ecuador's army and police contingent raided the country's prisons Sunday to regain control following the total release of agents and prison officers who were taken hostage in this week's riots.
The armed forces and the
national police confirmed joint operations in prisons, including the
confiscation of explosives and other prohibited items.
Approximately 800 military and
police officers participated in Sunday's operation in Machala city, in the
province of El Oro, "retaking control and conducting searches inside the
prison", the military said on X, formerly Twitter.
It added that the "total
control" of the prison of Turi, in the province of Azuay, has also been
retaken, following a military deployment in the prison that began in the early
hours of Sunday.
Another 1,100 uniformed
personnel raided the prison in the northern city of Esmeraldas, capital of the
Esmeraldas Province, and "confiscated explosives, alcohol and household
appliances" in the prison.
Riots in Ecuador's prisons
erupted on Jan 8 after drug lord Adolfo Macias absconded from a prison in the
city of Guayaquil.
On Jan 9, President Daniel
Noboa's government decreed a "state of emergency" for 60 days,
including imposing a night curfew in response to the escalation of violence in
the country, attributed to the actions of organized crime groups.
Noboa refused to negotiate
with "drug terrorists" and declared an "internal armed
conflict" in the country, allowing troops to be deployed on the streets to
fight "terrorist" groups.
As of Saturday, security
forces had carried out 10,478 operations in the country's 24 provinces,
arresting 1,105 people, 125 of whom were "terrorists".
No comments:
Post a Comment