Freed 57 guards and 7 policemen taken hostage by prisoners

In the statement from the National Penitentiary Agency (SNAI), it was noted that the 57 guards and 7 police officers who were taken hostage were released and are in good health. The statement states that conditions in the 6 prisons where guards and police officers were forcibly detained have returned to normal and that the situation is under control.

In Ecuador, prisoners took 57 guards and 7 police officers hostage in 6 prisons in response to security force operations.

In his statement to the press, the Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, affirmed that all the guards and policemen were detained in the Cuenca prison, and said: “This incident is an action against the public force because the policemen confiscated prohibited tools used in violent acts. “We are concerned about the safety of our public employees,” he said.

Police and military units, which carried out an operation in And Latacunga, one of the prisons where violence is most intense in the country, seized a large quantity of ammunition and explosives.
After the operation, the imprisoned gang leaders were transferred to other prisons for security reasons.

Following the incident, two bomb-laden vehicles were detonated in the center of the capital, Kito, with an interval of 8 hours, and 6 people were arrested. (AA)