The situation has changed “Prisoners are holding 57 guards and policemen inside the prison in Ecuador”

Ecuadorian Interior Minister “Juan Zapata” announced on Thursday, that prisoners inside a prison in the city of Cuenca in the south of the country who had been protesting since Wednesday against the transfer of prisoners to other detention centers had detained 57 guards and policemen.

The current situation inside Ecuador:-

In the midst of a day of violence that witnessed the explosion of two car bombs in the capital, Quito, Zapata said that seven detainees were police officers, adding during a press conference, “We are concerned about the safety of our officers”.

On Wednesday, hundreds of soldiers and police officers carried out a search for weapons, ammunition, and explosives in Latacunga prison, one of the country’s largest prisons.

Over the course of Thursday, hypotheses abounded about the reasons for the hostage-taking in Cuenca, and the prison administration initially spoke of the hypothesis of retaliation after the intervention of the armed forces in “Latacunga”.

But the authorities later said that the hostage-taking was “a sign of protest against the transfer of prisoners to other prisons”.

Habitual disturbances:-

Clashes between gangs formed by prisoners are frequent in Ecuador.

About 430 detainees have died in the Latin American country since 2021.

Groups linked to drug trafficking are waging a war to impose their authority in prisons, which have been turned into operations centers.

In the face of this wave of violence between gang-linked organizations, President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency on July 24 throughout the prison system for 60 days, allowing, in particular, the deployment of the army in prisons.