Ecuador: Release of Hostages From Prisons

The government of the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, assured around 22:00 local time this Saturday (03:00 GMT on Sunday) that all the hostages in the prisons were released after five days of the declaration of armed internal conflict.

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In the prisons they had at least 178 hostages between prison guards and administrative staff, whose release began in the days after the outbreak of the crisis until this Saturday was achieved the freedom of the rest, just over 150 according to the latest official figures.

"Congratulations to the patriotic, professional and courageous work of the Armed Forces, the National Police and the SNAI under the leadership of Minister Mónica Palencia and Gian Carlo Lofredo (Minister of Defense)", President Noboa reacted in his account of the social network X.

He added that the work of the Armed Forces and the Police allowed the "release of the prison security and surveillance force and the administrative personnel retained in the Detention Centers of Azuay, Cañar, Esmeraldas, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, El Oro and Loja".

The National Service for Care of Adults Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) said that "the protocols of security and joint work with the Armed Forces and the National Police were successfully concluded with the release of all the servants of the Prison Security and Surveillance Corps and members of the administrative staff".

He also announced that he will initiate investigations to determine the causes and those responsible for the events that occurred in Ecuador’s prisons.

The Government also provided an account in the afternoon of the operations carried out by the security forces during the declaration of the internal armed conflict in order to control the acts of violence committed by criminal groups in recent days.

The most important data include the arrest of 1,105 persons and the dismantling of 28 alleged terrorist groups.