Ecuador: five dead and more than 300 detained; Colombia and Peru mobilize soldiers to their borders

Ecuador continues this Thursday, January 11, immersed in an atmosphere of high tension in the midst of the security crisis that escalated since last weekend.

In what the Government indicates as a reaction by criminal gangs to its recent measures against organized crime, on Wednesday some localities once again experienced violent incidents. Among them an overnight bombing, which left at least one person dead and five injuredin El Coca, a city in the east of the country.

Furthermore, in a joint press conference, the Army and the Police confirmed the death of five members of criminal groups and the arrest of 329 “terrorists”, mostly members of the criminal movements 'Los Choneros', 'Tiguerones' and 'Los Lobos'.

These are three of the 22 groups that this week President Daniel Noboa declared as terrorist organizations, in the midst of his actions against the gangs that have brought to its knees a country that in recent years went from being one of the calmest in the region to one of the most violent.

Security forces also reported that a total of 41 people were kidnapped in the last few days and 28 prisoners were recaptured.

The Ecuadorian territory is going through a new day of the state of emergency this Thursday, which includes a curfew, decreed by the president on Monday, January 8, for 60 days. The decision was made in response to the riots in six prisons and the escape of the well-known leader of the drug trafficking group 'Los Choneros', Adolfo Macías, alias 'Fito', events that occurred on Sunday, January 7.

But the measures, far from stopping the actions of criminals, detonated a series of violent events: explosions, shootings, new prison riots and prisoner escapes, as well as incineration of vehicles and the armed invasion of a television channel, so The head of state declared “armed internal conflict” on Tuesday. A determination that allows security forces, among other actions, to carry out arrests without a court order.

Now, faced with the outbreak of violence and President Noboa's announcement to deport foreign prisoners, neighboring nations have taken some emergency measures.

Colombia and Peru deploy forces on their borders with Ecuador

The Colombian Army confirmed the transfer of around 180 soldiers to the border area as a security measure.

“The troops are already present on the Rumichaca International Bridge, the main border crossing, in coordination with Ecuadorian authorities, as well as in Chiles, Cuaspud Carlosama and the town of La Victoria de Ipiales (…) Near 180 soldiers of the 23rd Brigade will be deployed on formal and non-formal steps that communicate Colombia with the sister country of Ecuador, supporting security efforts and attentive to react to any situation,” the military institution reported through its account on the X platform.

01:46

For its part, Peru mobilized about 450 police officers in the north of the country, near the border area, made official on Wednesday the state of emergency for 60 days, in five bordering regions.

The measure covers seven provinces in the regions of Tumbes, Piura, Cajamarca, Amazonas and Loreto.

Colombia, in favor of repatriation of prisoners from Ecuador, but not mass expulsion

On Wednesday, the Ecuadorian president announced the deportation of foreigners who are in his country's prisons to reduce overcrowding and better control incidents of violence, many of which originate in prisons and from where group leaders criminals continue to operate.

“Colombia said that they wanted to help us and I said perfect, we already sent them the 1,500 prisoners that we have kept in Ecuadorian prisons,” Noboa said in an interview with 'Radio Canela', justifying his decision.

Bogotá, through the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Justice, responded that “it is willing to activate the repatriation process for Colombian citizens deprived of liberty.”

However, Colombia's Minister of Justice, Néstor Osuna, rejected a mass deportation, explaining that the Ecuadorian measure requires studying “case by case.” The official warned that in a mass expulsion many of those who are now detained in Ecuador could be released once they arrive in Colombia.

“If they expel them, first of all they are expelling them from prison. That is, they are setting them free and when they arrive at the border, of course, a Colombian citizen can enter Colombia (…) Upon arriving in Colombia, if ( a prisoner) has some outstanding debt with the Colombian Justice, because he will have to be captured and if he does not have it, then he will continue his life in freedom in Colombia,” Osuna assured.

The minister clarified that an expulsion is different from a repatriation of prisoners, for which he stressed that it is necessary to examine the legal situation of each detainee and the possibility of them completing their sentence or not in their country of origin.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, the measure will be extended to 1,489 Colombian prisoners, 1,362 Venezuelans and 100 Peruvians.

With EFE and local media