The Ecuadorian government has declared war on 22 criminal groups it defines as terrorists and this has led to an escalation of violence linked to drug trafficking and gang crime.
– We have always seen ourselves as a peaceful country, says Fernando Carrión, security expert at the political science department in Quito to the Guardian.
The authorities have now decided to take greater control over what happens inside the prisons.
Prison inmates in the capital Quito, Guayaquil, Tulca and Puyo were forced out of their cells for a proper screening. Among the finds were large quantities of knives and drugs and electronics – which enabled the prisoners to communicate with the outside world.
Cocaine was found in banana containers
In January, the leader of the criminal organization “Los Choneros”, Adolfo “Fito” Macias, escaped from his prison. He served a 34-year prison sentence for, among other things, drug trafficking and murder.
The drug trade also extends to Sweden, where several tons of cocaine have been found in banana containers from Ecuador. The country acts as a transit country for the cocaine produced in Colombia and Peru.
Stormed during live broadcast
The violence has recently escalated and on the ninth of January several men in balaclavas stormed a live broadcast that took place in a TV studio in Guayaquil. They took several journalists and other staff hostage.
– We have never seen anything like this, said Fernando Carrión, a security expert at the political science department in Quito the Guardian.