The wave of violence in Ecuador, which has intensified since Monday (8), has also transformed the country's prisons into a true battlefield.
According to information released by authorities this Wednesday (10), around 125 prison officers and 14 administrative employees are still being held hostage by inmates responsible for the rebellions inside Ecuadorian prisons.
Prisoners are using these people to “demand” the end of the government's attempt to transfer the leaders of criminal factions to other prison establishments.
According to the Ecuadorian government, the country's National Police and Armed Forces are trying to negotiate the release of these hostages. The National Comprehensive Care Service (SNAI), which is responsible for the administration of prisons, did not confirm the health status of the hostages.
The rebellions and wave of violence in the South American country began the day after the government confirmed that José Adolfo Macías, “Fito”, had disappeared from the prison where he was serving his sentence. He is the leader of the Los Choneros faction, one of the largest criminal organizations linked to drug trafficking in Ecuador. Currently, several criminal gangs internally control different prisons across the South American country, where since 2020 more than 450 inmates have been killed in a series of clashes between rival groups.
The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, said that on Sunday agents entered the prison where 'Fito' was serving his sentence to transfer him to a maximum security complex and found that he was not there.
According to Noboa, the head of Los Choneros “was in and out of the penitentiary whenever he wanted” in previous governments. (With EFE Agency)
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