Ecuador seeks to regain control of prisons after hostages freed

QUITO: Ecuador´s security forces worked on Sunday to regain control of prisons that had fallen into the hands of gang members, after securing the release of nearly 180 officials held hostage inside the jails.

The country´s simmering security crisis erupted last week as the government and powerful narco gangs declared all-out war on each other, after the prison escape of a dangerous drug lord.

Inmates rioted in jails where gangs wield outsize control, taking prison guards and administrative workers hostage, while on the streets a wave of violence has left 19 people dead.

Unverified images on social media of looting, brutal murders and other attacks have struck terror into the population.

On Sunday the army shared videos of prison walls being blown up, and declared “total control” of a prison in the city of Cuenca where 61 employees had been held hostage, according to the mayor.

They also shared images of hundreds of inmates, shirtless and barefoot, lying on the ground during the operation.

On Saturday the government first announced the release of 42 hostages, before the remaining 136 were set free, from prisons across seven provinces. President Daniel Noboa celebrated the releases in a post on X.