Ecuador’s president has declared a state of emergency after one of the country’s most notorious gang leaders escaped from prison, followed by a violent uprising with explosions and the kidnapping of several cops.
Adolfo “Fito” Macias, the leader of the feared Los Choneros gang, escaped Sunday from La Regional prison in Guayaquil, where he was serving 34 years for drug trafficking, murder and organized crime.
Authorities realized he was not in his cell just hours before he was due to be transferred to a maximum-security lockup in the same port city.
Two prison guards have been charged with helping the escape — nearly 11 years after Macias was recaptured after a previous break.
The gang leader’s escape was followed by clashes among inmates at six of Ecuador’s overcrowded prisons, including hostage-takings of guards.
At least four police officers were also kidnapped Monday night and remained missing: one in the capital, Quito, and three in Quevedo city.
Several cities in Ecuador were rocked by explosions, including on a pedestrian bridge Quito and one near the house of the president of the National Justice Court. At least two suspects were arrested in one of the attacks, but there were no immediate reports of any injuries.
Authorities have not said if the incidents are part of an orchestrated action — but the government has previously accused drug gangs of similar strikes.
President Daniel Noboa issued a 60-day state of emergency Monday “so that the Armed Forces have all the political and legal support for their actions.”
“The time is over when drug trafficking convicts, hitmen and organized crime dictate to the government what to do,” said the leader, who only took office in November.
The decree deploys the military on city streets and inside prisons, while setting a national curfew from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m.
The president, who was elected on a promise to crack down on the violence, vowed on Instagram to not stop until he “brings back peace to all Ecuadorians.”
Macias’ gang has been linked to the assassination last year of the presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, although so far he has not been charged in the killing.
Los Choneros is one of the Ecuadorian gangs authorities consider responsible for a spike in violence that reached a new level last year with the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. So far no one has been charged with the assassination, however.
Macias previously escaped from a maximum security facility in February 2013, but was recaptured weeks later.
With Post wires
