After a week of torture, all the hostages (136 people) who were held by members of the rioting drug gangs in Ecuadorian prisons were released during the night from Saturday to Sunday, the prison administration of the South American country announced , has been in a state of alarm for several days due to the attempted armed destabilization carried out by criminal organizations outside, but especially in the prisons.
“This night, the security protocols and the joint action of the police and the national army have allowed the release of all the hostages who were held in different prisons in the country”, said the press release issued by the authorities ecuadorian
“Congratulations for the patriotic, professional and courageous work of the armed forces, the national police and the SNAI (National Comprehensive Care Service for Adult Persons Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders) to obtain the release of the caretakers and administrative staff detained in the detention centers of Azuay, Cañar, Esmeraldas, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, El Oro and Loja”, President Daniel Noboa immediately reacted to the X network (formerly Twitter).
According to the police, 46 guards and 1 official were released from the Cotopaxi prison (center), 13 from the Tungurahua prison (center) and another 15 from the El Oro prison (southwest), where the lifeless body of an official.
Images released by the police showed the guards, including many women, crying, exhausted and leaning on their colleagues shortly after the release.
“Thank God, we are all fine. We are in good health. Hoping that this will be a big step for the country towards peace”, the freed hostages from Cotopaxi said in another video on social networks, while waving an Ecuadorian flag.
During the last week of the detention, the hostages, threatened by rioters armed with knives or firearms, have periodically asked the authorities for help and restraint, according to videos published periodically on the networks. At least two prison officials, one of them hanged, were executed by the rioters, as shown in gruesome images released by the criminals to cause panic.
Almost 175 people, including guards and prison administration officials, were taken hostage at the end of last week. About forty were released on Saturday, for which the authorities mentioned the mediation of the Catholic Church.
Throughout this intense national crisis, the SNAI has been providing very few details. It has indeed transpired, in any case, that in some cases the security forces have faced mutinous prisoners and in other penitentiaries the end of captivity has been achieved through negotiations.
The announcement of the January 7 escape from Guayaquil prison (southwest) of the feared leader of the Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías, alias Fito, sparked a wave of riots with hostage-taking in at least five prisons and attacks against law enforcement, and other acts intended to sow terror. According to the latest official update, at least 19 people died during these days of “war”, as the country’s president, Daniel Noboa, declared a state of emergency and withdrew the army.
