After his election victory, President Noboa promised to “return peace” to Ecuador, where there is a bloody war between drug cartels.
South America the president of western Ecuador Daniel Noboa has declared a national emergency in the country due to the uncontrolled situation of drug organizations and prisons.
In November, the center-right Noboa, who became Ecuador's president at the age of 35, announced a 60-day strike by soldiers on the country's streets and prisons. In addition, according to the president, the country would have a curfew that starts at 11 pm and ends at 5 am.
Noboa said in a video posted on Instagram that the state of emergency would give the country's armed forces “all the political and legal support” the soldiers would need to carry out their duties.
“We will not negotiate with terrorists and we will not rest until we restore peace to all Ecuadorians,” Noboa said.
After his election victory, Noboa promised to “return peace” to Ecuador, where there is a bloody war between drug cartels. The youngest president in the country's history also promised to improve education and create jobs.
Local time Monday's announcement was preceded by the discovery of the leader of the Los Choneros gang on Sunday during a police prison inspection. By Jose Adolfo Macias disappearance.
The crime boss known as Fito is believed to have escaped from prison just hours before police arrived, a presidential spokesman said Roberto Izurieta.
“The entire power of the state will be used to find this extremely dangerous individual,” Izurieta said on national television.
The prosecutor's office said it had opened an investigation and charged two prison employees for their alleged involvement in the crime boss's escape.
The crime boss had been serving a 34-year sentence for organized crime, drug trafficking and murder since 2011. Fito also escaped from prison in 2013, but was recaptured after three months.
Candidate in Ecuador's presidential election Fernando Villavicencio said that he had received threats from Fito. Villavicencio was shot dead at an election rally in the country's capital, Quito, 11 days before the election. After the murder, Fito was transferred to a high-security prison in an operation involving thousands of members of the security forces.
Unfit after the escape, riots broke out in prisons in at least six Ecuadorian provinces, according to a local prison official. In some prisons, guards were taken hostage.
Heavily armed police and soldiers arrived at several prisons, after which the armed forces shared pictures of half-naked prisoners gathered in the yard. However, prison officials said there were no injuries in the incidents.
Gang wars are strongly present in the country's prisons, where criminal leaders like Fito exercise their power. Around 460 prisoners have died in the fighting since 2021.
#Ecuador #president #declared #state #emergency #background #drug #organizations #situation #prisons
