Ecuador Under State Of Emergency, Curfew After Narco Boss Escapes

Quito, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jan, 2024) Ecuador declared a state of emergency Monday after a dangerous narco boss escaped from maximum security detention and unrest broke out at several prisons in the violence-plagued country.

President Daniel Noboa, in office since November, announced a 60-day mobilization of soldiers in Ecuador's streets and prisons as a manhunt was under way for gangster Jose Adolfo Macias, alias "Fito."

There would also be a curfew from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am daily, the president said.

The state of emergency, Noboa said in a video on Instagram, would give members of the armed forces "all the political and legal support" they need to carry out their duties in a battle against what he described as "narcoterrorists."

"We will not negotiate with terrorists nor rest until we return peace to all Ecuadorans," said Noboa.

On Sunday, the leader of the powerful Los Choneros gang was found missing by police conducting an inspection of a prison in the port city of Guayaquil.

The 44-year-old, who is said to have instilled terror in his fellow inmates, is believed to have escaped just hours before police arrived, according to presidency spokesman Roberto Izurieta. He was apparently tipped off.

"The full force of the state is being deployed to find this extremely dangerous individual," Izurieta told domestic tv Monday.

He said the prison system had failed and bemoaned "the level of infiltration" by criminal groups.

The prosecutor's office, meanwhile, said it had opened an investigation and filed charges against two prison officials "allegedly involved in the escape" of Fito.