Police caught in Ecuador 68 people were arrested – yesterday, Sunday – for trying to take control of a hospital in the context of the current war between drug gangs and security forces in the country. The police confirmed on the X platform that they had succeeded in arresting “terrorists” who attempted to control hospital facilities in Yaguachi Guayas, located in the southwest of the country.
The police expressed their belief that the detainees were trying to rescue a friend of theirs who had been hospitalized with an injury hours earlier, noting that weapons and drugs had been seized.
The police added that they raided a medical center used as a gang headquarters, in addition to uncovering a brothel where many gang members were hiding.
Recently, Ecuadorian authorities closed hundreds of medical centers that officials described as unqualified to provide medical care to patients and used by gangs as a cover for their criminal activities.
Ecuador recently witnessed a wave of violence as a result of the escape from prison of the drug trafficker known as “Vito,” Adolfo Macias. This led to Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa imposing a state of emergency and declaring “war” against the gangs.
Reports indicate that there are about 20 criminal gangs in the country that include about 20,000 people, and their activities have expanded in recent years in drug smuggling to… United State And Europe.
Last Wednesday, prosecutor Cesar Suarez, who was investigating an armed gang’s storming of a television station, was shot and killed in the coastal city of Guayaquil.
Media reports said on Sunday that Suarez was investigating members of the Vito family who were arrested in Argentina on Friday and returned to Ecuador.
Andean countries hold an emergency meeting
He held ministers Andean countries An emergency meeting was held in the Peruvian capital, Lima, on Sunday to discuss the gang crisis and cross-border drug trafficking. The Andean countries seek, namely Colombia AndPeru AndBolivia and Ecuador, to take joint measures to confront the expansion of drug smuggling gangs, in light of the escalation of criminal activities that have led to alert in the border areas.
For her part, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said that transnational organized crime attacks democracy and destabilizes the internal order of all countries, which requires joint cooperation to confront this challenge.
Bolivia had called for the meeting, and both Peru and Colombia stressed strengthening their border control to avoid the infiltration of criminals fleeing repression campaigns in Ecuador.
Ecuador, which was previously considered a safe country, has witnessed an escalating wave of violence over the past five years, due to the economic slowdown and poverty resulting from the repercussions of the Covid pandemic. In 2023, the crime rate in Ecuador rose to 46 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
