The situation in Ecuador is still difficult, outbreaks of violence and aggression against the population, as well as clashes between bandits and security forces continue, but this cannot change the intentions of the country’s authorities to fight crime and terrorist organizations that encroach on the sovereignty of the state. Russian Ambassador to Ecuador Vladimir Sprinchan told Izvestia about this on January 11.
He noted that the beginning of the unrest in the country was caused by the escape from prison of the leader of one of the criminal groups on Sunday, January 7.
“And, if I’m not mistaken, 22 more prisoners, accomplices, apparently from the same organized criminal group, escaped. The authorities were forced to use the Armed Forces and the police in order to restore order in general and in this prison. The response was a reaction among prisoners in five more prisons, who rebelled, riots, and a state of emergency was introduced in this regard,” Sprincan said.
As the diplomat added, there is most likely coordination between prisoners and their accomplices at large, and therefore any correspondence is now prohibited for convicts. Because after the riots in prisons, one-off terrorist attacks began in the country.
“I can call them terrorist because they did not have a specific focus. These were arson, explosions, attacks on retail outlets, attacks on law enforcement buildings, police patrols, and police stations. However, in our assessment, this is not an event that can come to life in the country in a fundamental way. This is a one-time action in Quito, Guayaquil, Ismiraldos and Cuenco, where the prisons are located, near which these acts of intimidation took place,” noted the Russian ambassador.
Currently, the authorities have the situation in the city of Quito under full control, public transport and commercial enterprises are operating. However, for several days in the emergency mode, students of all educational institutions – schools, kindergartens and higher educational institutions – were transferred to a remote learning format. Employees of government agencies have also been transferred to remote work.
“But this does not mean a great danger – just to avoid taking hostages and unnecessary civilian casualties,” the diplomat explained.
As for information about Russians injured during the riots, as of January 10, the embassy does not have such data. As Sprinchan noted, there is no danger to compatriots, however, on the embassy’s website, Russian citizens in Ecuador were urged to avoid places where terrorist acts or attacks took place, so as not to become accidental victims.
Before this, on January 10, a Russian-speaking resident of Guayaquil in Ecuador, Galina Kulagina, showed the situation in the city and spoke about the mood of local residents amid the unrest. She noted that everyone is united, national self-awareness is high, and everyone is praying for their native country.
At the same time, the head of the Unified Command of the Armed Forces of Ecuador, Jaime Vela Erazo, said that the military and police of the country, after the outbreak of unrest in the country, detained almost 330 alleged criminals, and five more were eliminated. The security forces had to engage in confrontation with three terrorist groups. National police said at least 10 people, including two police officers, were killed in unrest in Ecuador's Guayaquil and its neighboring town of Nobol.
According to the mayor of Guayaquil, two people were injured during clashes between law enforcement officers and criminal gangs. Also, more than 1,900 reports of crime and disorder were received during the day.
Unrest in the country began on the evening of January 9, when it became known that the studio of the TC Televisión television channel in Ecuador had been seized by armed people. The media published live footage showing six masked men pointing guns at channel employees lying on the floor. Police later announced that the invaders had been arrested and everyone was evacuated from the building.
After this, the country's President Noboa announced the introduction of a regime of internal armed conflict in the country amid an aggravation of the security situation. He mobilized troops to conduct military operations to neutralize terrorist groups.
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