Ecuador: A drone bomb explodes over the maximum security prison in Guayaquil, where former vice president Jorge Glas is being held

A A drone bomb exploded on Thursday over La Roca, Ecuador’s maximum security prison, causing damage to the roof of the prison, located in the city of Guayaquil.

The flying device loaded with explosives landed early in the morning on the roof of the prison, where prisoners such as Jorge Glas are held, former vice president during the government of Rafael Correa (2007-2017). Glas was arrested in April when police raided the Mexican embassy in Quito, where he was seeking asylum. The incident led to the breakdown of relations between the two nations.

The device exploded at around 10:45 a.m. local time, local media reported. A similar incident occurred a year ago, forcing dangerous criminals to be transferred to other prisons.

In a first statement, The government said it had managed to thwart the attack, which sought to disable the prison, and that security forces were evaluating whether to carry out a controlled detonation or deactivate it on the spot.

Upon detecting the drone, Special groups of the National Police were activated to respond to this sudden threat against La Roca, which is part of the Guayaquil prison complex, a group of five prisons that hold around 12,000 inmates.

We will confront each of their constant attempts to regain control of the prison system and the country.

“We will confront each and every one of their constant attempts to regain control of the penitentiary system and the country,” the Security Bloc said in a message addressed to the “mafias.”

In September last year, a drone with explosives also arrived at La Roca and its controlled explosion by security forces destroyed the roof of the prison, which was disabled for several months.

This caused the transfer of prisoners to other prisons, including José Adolfo Macías Villamar (‘Fito’), the leader of Los Choneros.the largest and oldest criminal gang operating in Ecuador.

According to independent research centres, the Choneros have a force of around 8,000 men. Allied with Mexican and Colombian cartels, this group competes with around twenty other organisations for the drug trafficking business.< /p>

‘Fito’ returned to the Guayaquil Regional Prison, which was controlled by Los Choneros, and from there he escaped between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, although his whereabouts are still unknown.

The criminal leader was serving a 34-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, murder and criminal association.

Ecuador’s prisons, which have become centers of criminal operations, have been under military control since January, when President Daniel Noboa declared the country in internal armed conflict in the face of an onslaught by drug traffickers.

With this measure, Noboa went on to classify these bands as terrorist groups and non-state belligerent actors, while declaring a state of emergency.