Quito, January 10 (Prensa Latina) The head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Ecuador, Admiral Jaime Vela, reported today that in 24 hours 329 terrorists from criminal gangs were captured and five were killed after the declaration of internal armed conflict.
In an initial assessment of the military and police operations, the official said that the majority of those arrested belonged to the Tiguerones, Los Lobos and Los Choneros groups.
He explained that there were three confrontations with drug crime organizations, 28 prisoners were recaptured, 195 stolen cars were found and 230 kilograms of substances were checked.
Vela expressed his solidarity with the National Police for the murder of two agents and for another who was injured during an operation.
He insisted that the army will not negotiate with the inmates who are holding more than a hundred prison leaders in various prisons, clarifying that none of the hostages have been murdered so far.
Likewise, Vela reported that an elite group was tasked with locating and arresting Adolfo Macías (Fito), the leader of Los Choneros, who escaped from prison over the weekend and has since escalated violence across the country.
For his part, the Commander General of the National Police, César Zapata, explained that from now on they will use the term “terrorist” when it is not about ordinary crime.
The assessment comes a day after President Daniel Noboa declared the existence of an internal armed conflict after a group of criminals broke into the headquarters of the TC Televisión channel in Guayaquil.
The president designated 22 criminal organizations as terrorists and the armed forces deemed them “military targets.”
This morning, President Noboa declared that the nation was in a state of war and insisted that they would not give in to the terrorist groups that number about 20,000 people in the national territory.
rgh/avr