Ecuador gangs unleash wave of terror after state of emergency declared

In a wave of terror across Ecuador, criminal gangs have kidnapped police officers and detonated a string of bombs, as prison inmates seized dozens of guards hostage just hours after President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency following the escape of the country’s most dangerous gang leader.

As thousands of soldiers and police searched for Adolfo Macías, alias Fito – the convicted leader of the powerful drug gang Los Choneros – chaos erupted inside and outside jails in an apparent show of force by organised crime gangs against the country’s new president.

Noboa, who was elected in October on the promise to crack down on violent crime, declared a two-month state of emergency late on Monday, vowing to take back control of the country’s prisons, which have repeatedly been the scenes of brutal violence between warring drug gangs that has killed more than 420 inmates since 2021.

“In response, these supposed narcoterrorist groups try to threaten us and believe that we will give in to their demands,” Noboa said in a message posted on social media.

The state of emergency appeared to have had little immediate effect as three police officers were kidnapped in the southern city of Machala and criminals took a fourth missing officer in the capital, Quito.

Dozens more prison guards were believed to have been taken hostage in jails across the country on Tuesday, adding to a number on Monday, though Ecuador’s prison authority has not given further details. Videos shared on social media showed prison wardens apparently held hostage by masked gun- and knife-wielding gang members, reading identical statements addressing Noboa.

The missing gang boss Macías, 44, vanished from prison on Sunday during a prison transfer to a maximum security facility in Guayaquil, the port city at the centre of Ecuador’s brutal descent into violence which has seen homicide rates shoot up by five times in as many years.

The kingpin, who had been serving a 34-year sentence since 2011, had been convicted of drug trafficking, murder and organized crime, but remained a powerful figure even behind bars.

Another dangerous gang leader, Fabricio Colón, escaped Riobamba prison during disturbances on Monday night, the prison service confirmed. Ecuador’s prosecutor’s office has linked Colón, a leader of the Los Lobos gang, to the assassination of the presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio and death threats against the attorney general, Diana Salazar.

Noboa has said he will not negotiate with “terrorists” and his government has blamed the recent prison violence on its plan to build a new high-security prison and transfer jailed gang leaders.

The president also plans to hold a referendum proposing strengthened crime-fighting measures such as seizing assets from suspected criminals and lengthening prison sentences.