Ecuador regains control of prisons after gangs abducted guards

Ecuadorian security personnel watch over inmates at the Turi prison in Cuenca – ECUADORIAN ARMED FORCES/AFP

Heavily armed soldiers have taken control of seven prisons in Ecuador where gang members had abducted more than 150 guards as part of a wave of co-ordinated violence that convulsed the South American nation last week.

Photographs released by the military showed troops in full combat gear, including flak jackets and machine guns, directing hundreds of prisoners stripped to their underwear and forced to lie on the floor, with their hands behind their heads.

The operation on Sunday came just hours after 158 guards and 20 administrative staff were released, apparently unharmed and following negotiations between gang leaders and the authorities.

More than 1,000 troops took part in the operation at seven prisons – ECUADORIAN ARMED FORCES/AFP

The operation, involving more than 1,000 troops, is the latest attempt by Daniel Noboa, the president, to wrest control of the country from the drug gangs, who have in recent years plunged Ecuador into a state of blood-spattered anarchy.

Last week, in response to the wave of violence, including explosions across the country and masked gang members storming a television station live on air, Mr Noboa officially declared Ecuador to be at “war” with the gangs, suspending constitutional rights and telling the military to “neutralise” gang members.

In the raid on the Esmeraldas prison, on the Pacific coast, soldiers seized firearms, knives, drugs and mobile phones. Norman Cano, a police colonel, said the operation had been carried out in a “very calm way” respecting the human rights of the prisoners.

Soldiers also patrolled in towns and cities across the country, enforcing a 11pm-5am curfew and searching for suspected gang members. Ecuador does not produce cocaine but has become a key transit hub for the drug from neighbouring Colombia and Peru.

Soldiers use angle grinders to cut through bars as they gain entry to Turi prison – AFP

‘Strongman approach’

Some commentators have suggested that Mr Noboa, 36, is attempting to emulate El Salvador’s authoritarian president, Nayib Bukele, 42, who has seen his approval rating soar above 80 per cent after a similar crackdown on gangs in the Central American nation.

However, one key difference is that, so far, no one has accused Mr Noboa of wanting to be a dictator, unlike Mr Bukele, who has sent soldiers to intimidate lawmakers and changed the constitution to allow his re-election.

More than 1,400 people have been arrested so far in Ecuador, including six members of the Lobos, or Wolves, gang who last week attacked the main court in Guayaquil, the port city that has been the epicentre of the violence, using explosives.

Calm appears to be returning to Ecuador, although there have been concerns about the military’s treatment of the homeless, who have been unable to stay off the streets during the curfew.

However, temporarily restoring order, during an official state of emergency, may be the easy part. Experts warn that reducing or eradicating the influence of the drug cartels in Ecuador’s public institutions, including the judiciary and national assembly, as well as neighbourhoods, will probably be a tougher challenge.

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