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The attacks of the last few hours in the provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas in Ecuador by illegal armed groups, with possible links to drug traffickers, led the government of President Guillermo Lasso to decree a state of emergency and a curfew in those two regions. The wave of violence, where at least two soldiers died, is unleashed, according to the authorities, by the transfer of prisoners from the Guayaquil Penitentiary to other prisons.
A wave of violence in which there were clashes between police and criminals forced the Government of Guillermo Lasso to decree a state of emergency and a curfew starting at nine at night in the provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas.
In a televised message, Lasso described the criminal acts as acts of sabotage and terrorism, while holding the transnational criminal gangs responsible for apparently attacking the Public Force.
The president assured that the “acts of sabotage and terrorism” are, “so to speak, a declaration of open war against the rule of law and the government” and ordered the authorities to act “harshly, within the framework of the law”.
Lasso stated that the Police and the Armed Forces “intervened the Litoral Penitentiary and seized weapons, ammunition, explosives and illegal communication systems.” In addition, he announced that he will move to Guayaquil to lead the “unified command post” and direct the operations of the authorities from there. In his intervention, he took the opportunity to go lashing out against the previous government and blame it for the wave of violence.
In his speech he issued a warning and stated that “the forces of order are going to intensify the actions” against the violent, but “be careful! with appealing to human rights to cover up delinquency”.
Attacks on different fronts in a prison system in crisis
In the bombings, which authorities say are in response to the transfer of prisoners from overcrowded and violent jails, at least two police officers were killed while two others were wounded.
According to Police Commander Fausto Salinas, at dawn six explosions were recorded in different regions of Guayaquil, two of them near gas stations.
While in the city of Esmeraldas there were three explosions and seven prison guards were taken hostage in the city jail, while inmates protested the transfer of prisoners. After this, the officials were released.
Juan Zapata, Minister of the Interior, said that these attacks “are reactions to the actions of the Police and the national government against organized crime” and that they occurred due to the reorganization of the prisons carried out by the SNAI penitentiary directorate, and added that they will not “lower their guard” and that these actions will not “intimidate and, much less, lower the spirits and morale (of the police)”.
So far, some 200 prisoners have been transferred from the Guayaquil Penitentiary, the most violent in Ecuador, to others in the country, according to the SNAI, with the aim of reducing overcrowding.
For President Lasso, the violence unleashed in the country and in the prisons is due to reprisals from drug gangs for their fight against drug trafficking, since Ecuador is used as a transit point for the transport of drugs that go to United States and Europe.
Due to the incidents of the last hours, the president, who had scheduled a personal trip to Orlando, United States, between November 2 and 6, decided to cancel it.
