Ecuadorian authorities announced Friday the release of 50 guards and seven police officers who were taken hostage for more than a day, in what the government described as a response by criminal groups to its efforts to regain control of the prisons.
QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuadorian authorities announced Friday the release of 50 guards and seven police officers who were taken hostage for more than a day, in what the government described as a response by criminal groups to its efforts to regain control of several large correctional facilities in the South American country.
Government officials have described the violent acts as the work of criminal gangs with members in prisons responding to efforts by authorities to retake control of several penitentiaries by relocating inmates, seizing weapons and other steps.. The latest explosion with dynamite happened early Friday on a bridge linking two cities in the coastal province of El Oro, National Police commander Luis García told The Associated Press.
Security analyst Daniel Pontón said the chain of events, which took place three weeks after the slaying ofwas a "systematic and clearly planned" attack that had shown the state was ineffective in preventing violence. "The issue is that we are seeing an escalation of the problem, and given the level of incompetence of the state, later we can expect attacks against the population," Pontón said. "It is a predictable scenario that would be terrible."
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