Hundreds Arrested: Situation in Ecuador

Ecuador's armed forces and national police have arrested 329 alleged criminals following the outbreak of unrest in the country, and five individuals have been neutralized in heightened operations. This information was provided by the head of the Ecuadorian armed forces' joint command, Jaime Vela Eras. The report comes from RIA Novosti.

“We have seized 61 weapons of various calibers, 418 rounds of ammunition, and 24 explosive devices, and we have arrested 329 terrorists. We have rescued 41 individuals from captivity. We have neutralized five terrorists,” Vela stated at a press conference, the recording of which was released by La Voz del Tomebamba.

According to him, soldiers and police have been compelled to engage in confrontations with three armed groups on three occasions, successfully capturing 28 fugitive inmates.

On January 8, President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency for 60 days to deploy the armed forces in restoring control over the penal system, where 139 staff members had been taken hostage. Following this, riots erupted in several cities.

On the night of January 9, criminals started setting vehicles and buses on fire, detonating bombs in Guayaquil, while armed robbers temporarily seized a local television station’s studio. Police reported that unidentified individuals abducted seven law enforcement officers in the capital, Quito, and Machala. Three officers from Machala were successfully rescued.

Subsequently, Noboa declared an internal armed conflict and ordered the military to neutralize 22 criminal organizations with tens of thousands of participants. Vela Eras has labeled these criminal groups as military targets and stated that no negotiations will take place with them.

The current regime in Ecuador came to power under the banner of fighting crime, which has reached alarming levels. During the recent election campaign, the presidential candidate of the “Construir” political movement, Fernando Villavicencio, as well as the leader of the “Civil Revolution” movement in Esmeraldas province, Pedro Briones, were both murdered.