Quito, Jan 13 (EFE).- Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa confirmed on Saturday that all prison and administrative officials taken hostage in seven prisons by inmates earlier this week have been released.
Noboa, in a post on social media platform X, congratulated law enforcement for having secured the release of the hostages in the prisons of the Andean provinces of Azuay, Canar, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua and Loja; as well as in the coastal areas of El Oro and Esmeraldas.
“Congratulations to the patriotic, professional and courageous work of the Armed Forces, National Police and SNAI,” National Comprehensive Care Service for Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders of Ecuador, Noboa said in Spanish.
He also highlighted the “leadership” of his ministers of the interior, Monica Palencia, and of defense, Giancarlo Loffredo, “for achieving the release of the security and prison surveillance corps and administrative personnel held in the detention centers.”
He also highlighted the “leadership” of his ministers of the interior, Monica Palencia, and of defense, Giancarlo Loffredo, “for achieving the release of the security and prison surveillance corps and administrative personnel held in the detention centers.”
SNAI, in a statement, stressed that the joint actions carried out by the military, police and prison guards, “successfully concluded with the release of all the security and prison surveillance officers and members of the administrative staff, as well as the release of all the security and prison guards.”
It added that the released hostages were going through medical evaluations, and that investigations would be conducted to determine the causes and those responsible for the incidents in the country’s prisons.
The turmoil in Ecuadorian jails over the past week started when the government of President Daniel Noboa was preparing to implement its plan to regain control of prisons, many of them dominated internally by criminal groups, whose rivalries have left more than 450 prisoners killed since 2020 in a series of prison massacres.
That violence has also spilled over into the streets to make Ecuador one of the most violent countries in the world with 45 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. EFE
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