2023-09-01 22:00:03
Prisoners in six prisons in Ecuador have released the approximately 60 prison officers and police they were holding hostage, amid an escalation in drug-trafficking violence, the state entity in charge of prisons (Snai) reported this Friday. .
The 50 agents and seven police officers “have already been released, underwent medical examinations to verify their state of health and are safe,” the organization said in a statement. Authorities reported the detentions on Thursday, but it is still unclear how long the agents were held by detainees and in which prisons.
“This incident would be a response by criminal groups to interventions by the police force in penitentiary centers in the country, whose purpose is the seizure of prohibited objects, which are used in violent acts”, reported Snai.
On Wednesday (30), hundreds of soldiers and police carried out a search operation for weapons, ammunition and explosives in a prison in the Andean city of Latacunga, in southern Ecuador, one of the main ones in the country and the scene of frequent massacres among detainees. , which have caused more than 430 deaths since 2021.
Initially, the state body responsible for prisons (Snai) claimed that it was retaliation for the “intervention” of the security forces. Authorities later said the detention is a protest against transferring detainees to other prisons.
Gangs linked to drug trafficking wage a war for power and use prisons as centers of operations.
In the face of violent clashes between organizations allied to Mexican and Colombian cartels in prisons, President Guillermo Lasso decreed, on July 24, a state of exception throughout the penitentiary system for 60 days, which allows the military presence in prisons.
Spain locates 9.5 tons of cocaine and makes the biggest seizure in the country’s history
#Prisoners #free #guards #police #held #hostage #Ecuador #News