In the fight against criminal gangs in Ecuador, security forces have arrested 329 suspects so far. Five suspected gang members were killed, it was said.
As reported, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa issued a decree on Tuesday classifying 22 criminal groups as terrorist and non-state belligerents that must be eliminated. “All these groups are now military targets,” said army chief Jaime Vela. The country is in an internal armed conflict, the decree continues.
Since then, 329 suspects have been arrested in operations across the country. Security forces killed five suspected gang members and rescued 41 hostages from gang violence. Firearms, ammunition, explosives, incendiaries, boats and vehicles were also seized, Vela said.
TV station stormed
The background is that armed men broke into the premises of the state television channel TC Televisión in the port city of Guayaquil on Tuesday during a live broadcast (see video above). They had taken several journalists and other station employees hostage.
The security situation in Ecuador had recently deteriorated dramatically. Many gangs want to control drug trafficking routes; In Ecuador, cocaine is mainly smuggled to the US and Europe.
Source: Krone
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