This Monday (8), the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, declared a 60-day state of emergency in the country, including a curfew and military presence on the streets and in prisons, amid a new crisis in the penitentiary system.
The move by Noboa, a young businessman in office since November, comes after incidents in six prisons across the country, including the holding of prison officers by inmates, reported by the prison system agency SNAI.
The prisoners' actions come one day after José Adolfo Macías, known as “Fito”, one of the most dangerous prisoners in the country and leader of the criminal group Los Choneros, disappeared from the prison where he was being held serving a 34-year sentence.
“I have just signed a state of emergency decree so that the Armed Forces have full political and legal support for their actions,” said Noboa in a message published on his social networks. “The time when those convicted of drug trafficking, contract killings and organized crime dictated to the government what to do is over,” he added. “We will not negotiate with terrorists.”
The measure allows the military to support the internal security work of the police, both in prisons and on the streets. It also establishes a curfew from 11pm to 5am and other restrictions.
In recent years, previous governments have resorted to states of emergency to control the insecurity plaguing Ecuador, but have not been successful.
Noboa's press office said in a statement that the new incidents in the prisons are also due to the government's decision to immediately begin construction of the new maximum security prison with international funding.
Noboa promised a security plan that includes a new intelligence unit, tactical weapons for law enforcement and beefed-up security at ports and airports — key points for drug transport — and temporary confinement of dangerous inmates on prison ships.
Clashes in Ecuador's overcrowded prisons are frequent and have left more than 400 inmates dead since 2021.
Reporting by Alexandra Valencia
Source: CNN Brasil
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