- After a notorious drug lord escaped from prison, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa declared a nationwide state of emergency and ordered night curfews.
- With his decree he wants to ensure that the armed forces have “full political and legal support” in the fight against drug crime.
- The state of emergency allows the president to deploy the military on the country’s streets and prisons for 60 days.
Recently, criminal gangs had violent arguments in the country’s prisons and taken guards hostage. According to the prison administration, the head of the powerful gang “Los Choneros”, Adolfo Macías alias “Fito”, apparently managed to escape.
We are taking back control in the prisons.
“The days when those convicted of drug trafficking, contract killings and organized crime told the government what to do are over,” said President Daniel Noboa in a speech. “We are taking control again in the prisons.”
Legend:
Police leave El Inca prison after a security operation due to unrest following the disappearance of Jose Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito”, in Quito (January 8, 2024).
REUTERS/Karen Toro
Videos showed how heavily armed soldiers and police officers entered a detention center and lined up the prisoners in their underwear on the floor of the inner courtyard.
Violence has increased dramatically in Ecuador in recent years. With around 25 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest values in Latin America was measured in 2022. Many of the overcrowded prisons are controlled by criminal organizations and fights between gangs often occur there.