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Dozens of prison officers have been freed after being taken hostage in Ecuadorian prisons

2023-09-02 22:37:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Dozens of prison officers have been freed after being taken hostage in

Fifty prison guards and seven police officers have been freed after being taken hostage by inmates held in six prisons across Ecuador, authorities said, part of a coordinated protest against security operations being carried out inside the violence-plagued prisons.

The protests began on Thursday, according to Ecuador's penitentiary service, SNAI, hours after the army carried out a major operation involving more than 2,200 security personnel at the prison in Latacunga, a city south of the capital, Quito.

The military said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was trying to "check weapons, ammunition and explosives" at the facility.

Prisoners and their allies responded by taking hostages and, according to Ecuador's Interior Ministry, setting off two car bombs in Quito on Thursday targeting SNAI buildings, one of which is no longer in use by the agency. At least six people were arrested after the blasts, the ministry said.

SNAI said on Saturday that all the hostages had been freed after a "coordinated operation" and that the prison was now operating normally.

Gang warfare has effectively moved from prisons to the streets, with criminal organizations displaying brutal and often public displays of violence in their battle to control drug trafficking routes./ CNA





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