A total of 2,369 people were arrested in Ecuador in the first ten days after the government declared an “internal armed conflict” against organized crime, with 158 arrested for alleged terrorism.
The figure comes from a report by the Government of Ecuador published on Friday on the police and military operations carried out on the national territory in this new scenario, with 22 organized crime gangs considered terrorist groups and belligerent non-state actors .
Ecuadorian authorities also claim that between January 9 and 19, they murdered five alleged members of these gangs who are now classified as terrorists, while two police officers were murdered and another eleven released after several kidnappings apparently carried out by these mafias.
During this period, 885 firearms, 1,069 bladed weapons, 64 weapon feeding systems, almost 26,000 bullets and 4,639 explosives were seized.
Ecuadorian law enforcement forces also seized more than 6.3 tons of drugs and more than $18,500 in cash.
According to the executive balance sheet, in these ten days there were thirteen attacks on public and private infrastructure and twelve police institutions.
Law enforcement forces conducted 26,390 operations and seized 15 ships.
Amid the state of emergency and internal armed conflict, with the army in charge of security, prosecutor César Suárez, who was in charge of the investigation into the armed attack on the TC television channel on January 9, was assassinated on Wednesday. in Guayaquil, which ended with the arrest of 13 people.
Justice has ordered the preventive detention of two people allegedly involved in the murder of prosecutor Suárez.
The “internal armed conflict” was declared on January 9 by Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa in light of a wave of attacks and violent actions attributed to organized crime, including the kidnapping and murder of police officers, explosion warnings, burning vehicles and simultaneous riots in prisons with hostage situations, now released.
With a total of more than 200 prison officials held hostage, prison riots remained active in at least seven detention centers until last Saturday evening, when all managed to be released, with the exception of a prison guard who was killed in an alleged shooting, still unexplained by police . authorities.
During these riots, almost 90 prisoners escaped, including Fabricio Colón Pico, considered one of the leaders of the ‘Los Lobos’ gang and accused of planning an attack on Attorney General Diana Salazar.
Before these episodes, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, better known as ‘Fito’, the leader of ‘Los Choneros’, one of the most violent gangs in the country, and now classified as ‘terrorists’ by Daniel Noboa’s government, had fled.
Source: El heraldo
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
