Gang bosses escape: prisoners from Ecuador take 178 police officers hostage

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 fmXrkB”>

Prisoners have taken 178 correctional officers hostage during fierce clashes between criminal gangs and state security forces in Ecuador. A total of 158 prison guards and 20 administrative staff are being held by mutinous inmates in seven prisons, the prison authority said on Thursday.

Recently, criminal gangs had violent clashes in the South American country’s prisons and took control of scores of guards. According to prison administration, the head of the powerful “Los Choneros” gang, Adolfo Macías alias “Fito”, and the leader of the “Los Lobos” gang, Fabricio Colón Pico, apparently managed to escape.

Twenty groups declared as terrorist organizations

Many prisons in Ecuador are controlled by crime syndicates. Often, security forces simply ensure that detainees remain in detention centers. Within the walls they are largely left to their own devices.

President Daniel Noboa’s government recently declared about 20 criminal groups terrorist organizations by decree and sent armed forces to fight the gangs. Across the country, members of criminal gangs then carried out explosive attacks, set fire to vehicles and attacked security forces.

Several gangs linked to powerful Mexican cartels are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes. Ecuador is a major transit country for cocaine from Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, which is smuggled to the United States and Europe. (SDA)

Source: Blick