The country’s president declared a state of emergency on January 8, following the escape of Jose Adolfo Macías, or “Fito,” the allegedly extremely dangerous leader of Ecuador’s most powerful gang
The Ecuadorian authorities extended yesterday Thursday for another 30 days the state of emergency, in the context of which the army was deployed on the streets to deal with the explosion of gang violence mainly engaged in drug trafficking.
President Daniel Noboa, who was elected in November, signed an executive order “renewing for an additional thirty days” the state of emergency he declared on January 8 across the country.
The measure, which also applies to prisons where weapons and drugs have been seized, is linked to the “internal armed conflict” and “serious internal unrest” in Ecuador, the text justifies.
The Constitution allows the president to declare a state of emergency for a maximum of 90 consecutive days.
Mr. Noboa declared a state of emergency on Jan. 8 after it became known that Jose Adolfo Macia, or “Fito,” the allegedly extremely dangerous leader of Ecuador’s most powerful gang, had escaped. The notorious Fito was serving a 34-year sentence for organization and gang, drug-trafficking and murder in the large — in theory maximum security — prison in Guayaquil (southwest).
The escape of the leader of the country’s most powerful gang — who has still not been caught — was followed by the kidnapping of more than 200 police officers and prison guards, explosions and the seizure of a live television studio by armed masked men.
On January 9, the president declared the country in a state of “internal armed conflict”, mobilizing the army to deal with some 20 gangs, which Quito says are linked to Mexican cartels and the Albanian mafia. Now these gangs are characterized as “terrorist” organizations.
According to the Constitutional Court, the declaration of “internal armed conflict” can be made indefinitely, as it is not linked to the state of emergency.
With these measures, it became possible to deploy armed forces units on the streets and inside prisons. Security forces have arrested over 7,500 suspects and seized 65 tons of drugs.
Ecuador is located between Colombia and Peru, the two countries with the largest cocaine production in the world.
Source :Skai
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