The Ecuadorian president gave orders to “neutralize” the gangsters after 10 people died in different parts of the country
Ecuador’s most wanted criminal, Adolfo Macías, escaped from prison on Sunday, triggering a state of emergency in the country and more than 3,000 people have been deployed in the search operation so far.
On Tuesday, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa gave orders to “neutralize” criminal gangs after gangsters declared war on the country.
The gangs have reciprocated by taking police officers hostage; according to the National Prisons Agency (SNAI), 125 guards and 14 officers have been taken captive in five different cities.
As reported by the daily sun, At least 10 people have died in different parts of the country and several have been injured in explosions around the city.
On Tuesday, gangs broke into the TC television building in Guayaquil with firearms and explosives.
Additionally, another leader of the Los Lobos gang and drug lord, Fabricio Colón Pico, has also been on the run since his arrest last Friday for his alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Ecuador’s attorney general.
Unverified videos circulating on social media show kidnappers holding hostages with guns to their heads and blindfolded reading a statement to President Noboa: “You declared war, you will get war, you declared a state of emergency. We declare that police, civilians and soldiers will be the spoils of war”.
In response, Noboa swore “not to negotiate with terrorists or rest until peace is restored to all Ecuadorians.”
