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☆ Ecuador Banana Heir Daniel Noboa Hopes to Fulfill Father's Presidential Dreams
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

Gonzalez won an August first round with 34%, while Noboa came a surprising second with 23%. Noboa has also promised job creation, particularly for young people, and spent significant time campaigning at universities. He would boost employment through investment in strategic sectors and vocational training for job hunters, Noboa has pledged. Noboa resigned from a management position at his family's corporation to enter politics, winning a legislature seat in 2021. Noboa, a married father of two, frequently appears in videos on social media dancing and singing or DJ-ing music at his political rallies.

Persons: Alexandra Valencia, Daniel Noboa, Alvaro Noboa's, Luisa Gonzalez, Rafael Correa, Gonzalez, Noboa, Fernando Villavicencio, Guillermo Lasso, Janeth Tayo, Oliver Griffin, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Alexandra Valencia QUITO Locations: Ecuador, Guayaquil, Sangolqui, Quito

Cocaine is also increasingly found in shipments of tuna, as well as hidden in hollowed-out pineapples and stashed amid sugar, police say. The security situation in Ecuador has sharply deteriorated in recent years, one factor in South America's migrant exodus. Police have seized some 50 tonnes of drugs so far this year at the country's two principal ports. The percentage of searched banana shipments which contained cocaine has fallen this year, but it is still very high - at 57% in 2023, from 70% in 2022, according to police figures. There is evidence some drugs may be being displaced elsewhere, with the amount of searched tuna shipments containing drugs rising to 9% from 3%.

Persons: Vicente Gaibor del Pino, Pablo Ramirez, Daniel Noboa, Luisa Gonzalez, Gonzalez, Rafael Correa, Noboa, Alvaro Noboa, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso, Jose Hidalgo, Ramirez, hadn't, " Ramirez, Alexandra Valencia, Yury Garcia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Police, Reuters, U.S . Coast Guard, Ecuador's, Thomson Locations: Guayaquil, Ecuador, Rights GUAYAQUIL, QUITO, South, Europe, Quito, United States, Sierra Leone, Hong Kong

☆ Six suspects in assassination of Ecuador candidate murdered in prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The killings took place in a penitentiary in Guayaquil, the South American country's largest city, the attorney general's office announced earlier on Friday. A seventh suspect, also Colombian, was shot and killed by police, while other suspects were later arrested. The second round run-off vote is scheduled for Oct. 15, the culmination of an election cycle marred by numerous incidents of violence. She has said that surging crime is unprecedented and that voters should not allow "terror" to stop them from voting for change. Reporting by Julia Symms Cobb; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, Ecuador's, Guillermo Lasso, Daniel Noboa, Luisa Gonzalez, Rafael Correa, Julia Symms Cobb, David Alire Garcia, Robert Birsel Organizations: American, Police, Thomson Locations: Guayaquil, Quito, Colombian

☆ Ecuador Investigates Prison Agency After Killings of Suspects in Candidate Assassination
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

Ecuadorean authorities said they initiated the investigation because SNAI did not carry out a pending order to transfer the inmates for security reasons. Villavicencio, a prominent journalist who exposed corruption and organized crime, was gunned down while leaving a campaign event in August, bringing the country's rising violence to the spotlight this campaign season. On Friday, six of the suspects, who were identified by authorities as Colombian nationals, were killed in a prison in Guayaquil. The Colombian government condemned the killings and offered its support to Ecuadorean investigators in a statement on Saturday. The second round run-off vote will be held on Oct. 15, ending an election cycle marred by the South American country's rising violence.

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, SNAI, Guillermo Lasso, Anna, Catherine Brigida, Franklin Paul Organizations: Reuters, Police, South Locations: Guayaquil

☆ Ecuador investigates prison agency after killings of suspects in candidate assassination
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, SNAI, Guillermo Lasso, Anna, Catherine Brigida, Franklin Paul Organizations: Police, South, Franklin Paul Our, Thomson Locations: Guayaquil

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A seventh man accused in the August assassination of an Ecuadorian presidential candidate was killed inside a prison in Ecuador's capital, authorities said Saturday, a day after six others allegedly linked to the crime were slain in a different lockup. The killing of the seven suspects happened a little more than a week before Ecuador holds a presidential runoff election and as officials struggle to explain how this was possible. The prison system said in a press release that the man killed was being held at a prison in Quito, Ecuador’s capital. Six Colombian men charged in the Aug. 9 assassination of Fernando Villavicencio were killed Friday inside a prison in Guayaquil. He had reported being threatened by affiliates of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, one of the many international organized crime groups operating in Ecuador.

Persons: —, Fernando Villavicencio, Guillermo Lasso, Villavicencio, Luisa González, Daniel Noboa Organizations: Ecuadorian Locations: QUITO, Ecuador, Ecuador's, Quito, Ecuador’s, Guayaquil, Sinaloa

Production of the chocolate-making ingredient is expanding outside of the main growing area in West Africa as farmers in places such Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia see potential profit in the crop. The rally in prices to the highest level in nearly 50 years is boosting that trend, which could alleviate the current supply tightness in the global cocoa market. The country was once the second only to Ivory Coast in cocoa production, but a devastating fungus in the 1980's known as Witches' Broom sharply reduced production. "I believe that the new profile of cocoa production will be large-scale," said Moises Schmidt, one of the owners. "If you plant cocoa trees there (Amazon region), it is considered reforestation," said Douglas.

Persons: Schmidt Agricola, Moises Almeida Schmidt, Handout, Moises Schmidt, Jeroen Douglas, Douglas, Jose Garcia, IFAD's, Alvaro Lario, Marcelo Teixeira, Maytaal Angel, Simon Webb, Anna Driver Organizations: REUTERS, International Cocoa Organization, Reuters Graphics, Ivory, UN's, Fund for Agricultural Development, Thomson Locations: Bahia, Brazil, West Africa, Ecuador, Colombia, Africa, South America, Ivory, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Asia, United States, Europe, Guayaquil, Para, Netherlands, Medicilandia, New York, London

☆ NTSB probes JetBlue flight that experienced severe turbulence, injuring eight
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Sept 25 (Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened an investigation into a JetBlue (JBLU.O) flight that experienced severe turbulence and led to eight apparent injuries. The incident occurred Monday on JetBlue Flight 1256, an Airbus (AIR.PA) A320, near Jamaica while en route from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the board said. JetBlue said the seven customers and one inflight crew member were transported to the hospital for evaluation and treatment and the flight landed safely. Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Shepardson, Chris Reese Organizations: National Transportation Safety Board, JetBlue, Airbus, Thomson Locations: Jamaica, Guayaquil, Ecuador, Fort Lauderdale , Florida

☆ Morocco earthquake lights: strange light phenomenon before some quakes is a long standing mystery
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Reports of “earthquake lights,” like the ones seen in videos captured before Friday’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Morocco, go back centuries to ancient Greece. He has coauthored several scientific papers on earthquake lights, or EQL. To better understand earthquake lights, Derr and his colleagues gathered information on 65 American and European earthquakes associated with trustworthy reports of earthquake lights dating back to 1600. Other theories about what causes earthquake lights include static electricity produced by the fracturing of rock and radon emanation, among many others. At present there is no consensus among seismologists on the mechanism that causes earthquake lights, and scientists are still trying to unlock the mysteries of these outbursts.

Persons: there’s, ”, John Derr, Juan Antonio Lira Cacho, Derr, Antonio Lira, Freund, Derr’s, “ Organizations: CNN —, Friday’s, Geological Survey, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, CNN, Geophysics, San Jose University, NASA Ames Research Center Locations: Morocco, Greece, Pisco, Peru, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, China, Sichuan, Earthquakes, Guayaquil, Ecuador

☆ ‘Earthquake lights’ phenomenon is a long-standing scientific mystery. Here’s what experts think is behind them
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Persons: there’s, ”, John Derr, Juan Antonio Lira Cacho, Derr, Antonio Lira, Freund, Derr’s, “ Organizations: CNN —, Friday’s, Geological Survey, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Geophysics, San Jose University, NASA Ames Research Center Locations: Morocco, Greece, Pisco, Peru, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, China, Sichuan, Earthquakes, Guayaquil, Ecuador

☆ Ecuador youth choosing gangs as route out of poverty, UN expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lawlessness has soared across Ecuador since the coronavirus pandemic, something outgoing President Guillermo Lasso blames on disputes related to drug trafficking and common crime. Some 27% of Ecuadoreans live in poverty, while 10.8% live in extreme poverty on a national level, according to the government's statistics office. Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said impoverished youth were easy picking for gangs looking to recruit new members. Lasso, who brought forward elections to avoid impeachment, has repeatedly declared states of emergency in answer to outbreaks of violence. "We need a social Bukele, one that takes seriously the links between poverty and the rise in violence," he added.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso, Santiago Arcos, Ecuadoreans, Olivier De Schutter, De Schutter, Lasso, Nayib Bukele, Luisa Gonzalez, Rafael Correa, Daniel Noboa, Alexandra Valencia, Oliver Griffin, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UN, United Nations, Central American, Thomson Locations: Guayaquil, Ecuador, Santiago, Rights QUITO, U.S, El Salvador

CNN —Fifty prison guards and seven police officers have been freed after being taken hostage by inmates held in six prisons across Ecuador, authorities said, part of a coordinated protest against security operations being conducted inside the country’s violence-plagued penitentiaries. The SNAI said on Saturday that all hostages had been freed following a “coordinated operation” and that prison was now running normally. The SNAI said in July that it had successfully executed an operation to free 106 prison guards taken hostage by inmates across five different prisons. A detainee uprising in the port city of Guayaquil left 31 people dead, according to the Ecuador Attorney General’s office. Ecuador’s prison system has long been dogged by violence and infighting between gangs powerful enough to overwhelm the guards meant to keep the facilities, many of which are overcrowded, safe.

Persons: SNAI, Guillermo Lasso, Ecuador Attorney General’s, Fernando Villavicencio, “ Organizations: CNN, Ecuador’s Ministry, Ecuador Attorney Locations: Ecuador, Latacunga, Quito, Guayaquil

☆ Ecuador should hold violent convicts on prison boats, says presidential hopeful Noboa
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Yury Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

GUAYAQUIL, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Ecuador should strengthen controls at its borders and ports to fight drug trafficking and isolate its most violent criminals on prison boats, presidential candidate Daniel Noboa said on Tuesday. Noboa, son of prominent banana businessman and perennial presidential hopeful Alvaro Noboa, was a surprise second-place finisher in the weekend first round of Ecuador's presidential election, winning 23.5% of the vote. "We should reinforce the border, have a military presence at the borders, a military presence at the container ports because that's where the drugs leave from," Noboa told reporters in Guayaquil. Prison boats could take 300 to 400 each of the country's most violent criminals some 80 miles (130 km) out to sea, he said. "It is important to totally isolate the violent criminals, who from prison generate terror and plan more crime," Noboa said.

Persons: Daniel Noboa, Noboa, Alvaro Noboa, Luisa Gonzalez, Rafael Correa, Yury Garcia, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Security, Reuters, El, Thomson Locations: GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, South America, Guayaquil, Quito

☆ Ecuador election: assassinations cast a grim shadow as country selects a new president
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Nearly 100,000 troops will be dispatched to ensure public safety and order across Ecuador on election day, Ecuador’s government says. Friends, family members and supporters of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio attend a tribute at Quito Exhibition Center. Henry Romero/ReutersEverything to play forAnything could happen in Sunday’s presidential vote, say analysts, who point to the killing of Villavicencio as potentially changing voters’ preferences. Journalist and presidential candidate Christian Zurita gestures next to his running mate, vice presidential candidate Andrea Gonzalez (R), in Quito on August 13, 2023. Ecuador presidential candidate Yaku Perez looks on as he arrives to participate in a presidential debate, in Quito, Ecuador August 13, 2023.

Persons: CNN —, Fernando Villavicencio, Otto Sonnenholzner, Guillermo Lasso, Henry Romero, ”, Laura Lizarazo, “, Glaeldys González, …, Pedro Briones, Luisa González, Rafael Correa, Lizarazo, Rodrigo Buendia, Correa, González, Villavicencio, Christian Zurita, Andrea Gonzalez, Martin Bernetti, Moreno, Erika Paredes, Marcos Pin, ” Lizarazo, Yaku, Yaku Perez, Karen Toro, El, Nayib Bukele –, Bukele, Jan, Vicente Gaibor del Pino Organizations: CNN, Quito Exhibition Center, Reuters, ”, Crisis, Movimiento, Getty, CNN En, Construye’s, Alianza Actuemos Locations: Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, United States, Guayaquil, Esmeraldas province, Quito, AFP, Belgium, Samborondon

Six suspects, all Colombians police say belong to criminal gangs, are being held in the murder. Other candidates have reported attacks against them, though in several cases police have said that violence was not directed at the hopefuls themselves. Luisa Gonzalez, a protegee of Correa, led polling before Villavicencio's murder with about 30% of voting intention. Pro-market candidate Otto Sonnenholzner has hardened his discourse since Villavicencio's murder, repeatedly promising that criminals who use violence will be shot by police under his government. "The new president must propose things that are real, not just words," said university student Menaly Luge, 18, who is voting for Villavicencio's Construye party.

Persons: Otto Sonnenholzner, Christian Zurita, Luisa Gonzalez, Fernando Villavicencio, Monica Barba, Rafael Correa, Correa, Daniel Noboa, Alvaro Noboa, Yaku Perez, Villavicencio's, Zurita, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Oliver Griffin, William Mallard Organizations: Law, French Foreign Legion, Thomson Locations: Guayaquil, Ecuador, Quito, QUITO

☆ Shoot-out occurs near Ecuador candidate Sonnenholzner day before vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Ecuador presidential candidate Otto Sonnenholzner of the Actuemos Coalition gives remarks as he arrives to participate in a presidential debate, in Quito, Ecuador August 13, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro Acquire Licensing RightsQUITO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A shoot-out erupted on Saturday near a restaurant where Ecuadorean presidential candidate Otto Sonnenholzner was eating with his family, police and the candidate said, though the violence was not directed at him. Ecuadoreans head to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president and legislature after a campaign clouded by the assassination of anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio 10 days ago. "We just suffered a shoot-out in front of the place where I was breakfasting with my family," Sonnenholzner, a pro-market candidate and former vice president said on X, previously called Twitter. Fellow presidential candidate Daniel Noboa on Thursday said there was an attack on his campaign caravan in Duran, but police later said the shooting was not directed at Noboa, son of prominent banana businessman and former presidential candidate Alvaro Noboa.

Persons: Otto Sonnenholzner, Karen Toro, Fernando Villavicencio, we're, Sonnenholzner, Villavicencio, Daniel Noboa, Alvaro Noboa, Francisco Tamariz, Tamariz, Agustin Intriago, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Cynthia Osterman, Grant McCool Organizations: Ecuador, Actuemos Coalition, REUTERS, Rights, Police, Thomson Locations: Quito, Ecuador, Rights QUITO, Guayaquil, Duran, Noboa, La Libertad, Santa Elena, Pacific, Manta

☆ After killing of Ecuador candidate Villavicencio, speculation and recrimination
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Police said last week their investigation includes questions about why an armored vehicle normally used by the candidate was in Guayaquil and not with Villavicencio on the day of the murder. "He should have had a much stronger (security) structure," Patricio Carrillo, a former interior minister and legislative candidate who was with Villavicencio at the event where he was murdered, told Reuters. After the event, Villavicencio exited out the front of the sports center, where many people had gathered, Carrillo said, adding that he himself had stayed inside chatting to some friends. Christian Zurita, Villavicencio's replacement candidate for the Construye party, was also at the sports center on the day of the murder. Correa, who in office regularly clashed with Villavicencio, has called the killing a false flag operation to hurt his Citizen's Revolution party.

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, Villavicencio, Patricio Carrillo, Carrillo, Villavicencio's, Christian Zurita, Guillermo Lasso, Luisa Gonzalez, Rafael Correa, Correa, Gonzalez, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Police, Reuters, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: QUITO, Quito, Guayaquil, Ecuador

☆ Ecuador presidential hopefuls close campaign clouded by violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Christian Zurita, who is replacing slain presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, and vice presidential candidate Andrea Gonzalez gesture after a news conference, in Guayaquil, Ecuador August 16, 2023. Candidates have pledged to fight crime and improve the struggling economy, amid sharply rising violence blamed on drug traffickers and unemployment woes, which has increased migration. Luisa Gonzalez, a protege of former President Rafael Correa, led polling before Villavicencio's murder with about 30% of voting intention. "We are committing to have zero tolerance for corruption, for organized crime, for all structural violence." Businessmen Otto Sonnenholzner and Jan Topic have rallies planned in Guayaquil, where violence has been acute, and have both promised economic reactivation and security.

Persons: Zurita, Fernando Villavicencio, Andrea Gonzalez, Vicente Gaibor del Pino, Guillermo Lasso, Milton Oleas, Luisa Gonzalez, Rafael Correa, Gonzalez, Correa, Yaku Perez, Perez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Villavicencio's, Christian Zurita, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Guayaquil, Ecuador, Rights QUITO, Quito, Mexico

☆ Ecuador awaits funeral for assassinated presidential candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

QUITO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Supporters of assassinated Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio have been hosting gatherings in his memory and waiting to see whether his family on Friday will give details of plans for his funeral. Villavicencio's body was released to two family representatives, including his lawyer, on Thursday, according to the attorney general's office. Some family members are believed to be outside Ecuador and traveling back for the funeral. Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio waves an Ecuadorian flag as he attends a rally in Quito, Ecuador August 9, 2023. Violence in Ecuador has surged in recent years, especially in cities along drug-trafficking routes like Guayaquil and Esmeraldas where citizens say they live in fear.

Persons: Ecuadorean, Fernando Villavicencio, Villavicencio's, Villavicencio, Rafael Correa, Luisa Gonzalez, Correa, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso, Karen Toro, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Albanian mafia, REUTERS, Albanian, Thomson Locations: QUITO, American, Ecuador, Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Esmeraldas

The 12 shots fired on Wednesday evening, killing an Ecuadorean presidential candidate as he exited a campaign event, marked a dramatic turning point for a nation that a few years ago seemed an island of security in a violent region. A video of the moments just before the killing of the candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, began circulating online even before his death had been confirmed. And for many Ecuadoreans, those shots echoed with a bleak message: Their nation was forever changed. “I feel that it represents a total loss of control for the government,” said Ingrid Ríos, a political scientist in the city of Guayaquil, “and for the citizens, as well.”Ecuador, a country of 18 million on South America’s western coast, has survived authoritarian governments, financial crises, mass protests and at least one presidential kidnapping. It has never, however, been shaken by the kind of drug-related warfare that has plagued neighboring Colombia, unleashing violence that has killed thousands, corroded democracy and turned citizens against one another.

Persons: Fernando Villavicencio, ”, Ingrid Ríos Locations: Guayaquil, “, Ecuador, South, Colombia

☆ Ecuador names new prisons director following July violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso walks on the day of his annual report to the nation, a week after dissolving the National Assembly and calling for early elections, in Quito, Ecuador, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro/File PhotoQUITO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso on Tuesday named a new director for the country's prison agency, SNAI, following renewed violence in one of the nation's most violent prisons. Lasso has regularly declared states of emergency in prisons as he tries to tackle violence that has surged since 2021, claiming the lives of at least 400 prisoners. The latest 60-day emergency declaration began in late July, after violence at Guayaquil's Penitenciaria del Litoral. Luis Ordonez, a retired soldier and intelligence expert, will replace Guillermo Rodriguez as the prison head, Lasso's press office said in a statement.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso, Karen Toro, Lasso, Luis Ordonez, Guillermo Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Ordonez, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Leslie Adler Organizations: National Assembly, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Quito, Ecuador, QUITO, Lasso's

CNN —At least 11 “complete bodies” and dozens of body parts, including human heads, were recovered on Wednesday from a major prison in Ecuador, after days of deadly prison clashes. The remains were collected at the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where violence first erupted on Saturday. Some of the victims appeared to have been beheaded, the National Forensic Service of Ecuador told CNN en Español Wednesday. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has also signed a decree declaring a state of emergency across the country’s entire penitentiary system for the next 60 days. Over the past two years, Lasso has named five different directors of the prison service, but none have proven able to reduce the violence.

Persons: Cesar Munoz, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso Organizations: CNN, National Forensic Service, Wednesday, AP, Security, Twitter Locations: Ecuador, Litoral, Guayaquil

☆ Ecuador prison violence leaves at least 11 dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The forensic effort at the Penitenciaría del Litoral prison is continuing to determine the official death toll, Cesar Zapata, the police director of citizen security and public order told journalists. This week's latest surge of prison violence comes during campaigning for Aug. 20 elections, with some presidential candidates pledging prison reforms. More than 100 prison officers held in jails around the country were freed on Tuesday, and SNAI said prisoners had lifted hunger strikes held at some facilities. The 2,700 soldiers and police officers who entered the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison confiscated high-caliber weapons including grenade launchers, drugs, cell phones and bullet-proof vests. The disturbances led President Guillermo Lasso to declare a 60-day state of emergency for the country's prisons and allow the military to help retake control.

Persons: Cesar Zapata, Zapata, SNAI, Guillermo Lasso, Lasso, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Sandra Maler Organizations: Thomson Locations: QUITO, Guayaquil, Esmeraldas

☆ Ecudor crisis: How gang warfare jumped from Ecuador's prisons to the open street
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Frantic purchases of ammunition, the daylight assassination of a mayor, and a growing body count inside Ecuador’s prisons signal that the country’s roiling security crisis is going from bad to worse. Violence has been most pronounced on Ecuador’s Pacific coast as criminal groups battle to control and distribute narcotics, primarily cocaine. The country has also lost control of its prisons, which are often ruled by the criminal gangs. Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso speaks during a meeting in the Carondelet Palace in Quito on November 10, 2021. The crisis has also affected the security and justice system with allegations of corruption swirling around some in courts and police.

Persons: Agustin Intriago, Ariana Chancay, Agustin Intriago's, Dolores Ochoa, Guillermo Lasso, Vicente Gaibor del Pino, Coronel Mario Pazmiño, CRISTINA VEGA RHOR, Lasso, ” Lasso, ”, Fausto Salinas, Luisa Gonzalez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Yaku Perez Organizations: CNN, Manta, Security, Authorities, Reuters, Ecuadorian Army, Getty, Public Security Council, Ecuadorian Locations: Ecuador’s, Guayaquil, Manta, Ecuador, South America, North America, Europe, Peru, Colombia, America, Bolivia, Carondelet, Quito, AFP, Manabi

☆ Death toll from violent incidents in Ecuador's prisons hits 18
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Clashes between organized criminal gangs have taken place since Saturday at the prison, one of the most dangerous in Ecuador. In other prisons, inmates took nearly 100 guards hostage and prisoners in some jails began hunger strikes, without explaining why. Ecuador has long been plagued by prison violence. Military intervention in Ecuador's prisons will continue until control has been retaken and there is no threat to prisoners or officials, the government said. Lasso has regularly declared states of emergency in the country's prisons as he tries to tackle violence that has surged since 2021, claiming the lives of hundreds of prisoners.

Persons: Guillermo Lasso, Karen Toro, Lasso, Los Rios, Agustin Intriago, Alexandra Valencia, Oliver Griffin, Valentine Hilaire, William Maclean, Bill Berkrot Organizations: National Assembly, REUTERS, Ecuador, Duran, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Quito, Ecuador, QUITO, Guayaquil, Manabi, Los, Manta

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