1 of 2 police officers line up in front of the Turi prison in Cuenca, Ecuador Photo: Fernando MACHADO / AFP Police officers line up in front of the Turi prison in Cuenca, Ecuador Photo: Fernando MACHADO / AFP
Three police officers were kidnapped while working at the Wilson Franco Police Unit in Machala, Ecuador.
Another agent was also kidnapped while working in another unit in the city of Quito.
“None of these events will go unpunished,” the police statement on social media said.
As of the last update to this report, police were still trying to locate the officers.
2 of 2 Image of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as Fito Photo: Reproduction/@ffaaecuador Image of José Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as Fito Photo: Reproduction/@ffaaecuador
The state of emergency in Ecuador allows the armed forces to take to the streets to support the work of the police. The decree is justified by the serious internal unrest in the country. The state of emergency applies for 60 days. During this time, the following rights are restricted in Ecuador:
- Right of movement, a curfew applies between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
- Right of assembly.
- Right to privacy in the home and to correspond (ie no court order is required for the authorities to enter people's homes).
On Sunday evening (7), the Ministry of State of Ecuador announced that one of the country's main criminals, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as Fito, was not found in the prison where he was supposed to serve his sentence.
Fito, 44 years old, is one of the leaders of the Los Choneros group and is considered one of Ecuador's most dangerous criminals.
According to an article in El País, police commander César Zapata said authorities learned of Fito's “nonattendance” at the Guayaquil city prison where he was serving his sentence.
Police and the army called in more than 3,000 men to try to find Fito, but as of now his whereabouts are unknown.
Los Choneros began their activities as a group of hired killers. They expanded their activities and also started drug trafficking and robberies. In Ecuador, the Choneros are considered to be the first to join a foreign group in this case the Sinaloa Cartel from Mexico.
He was first arrested for robbery in 2000. Fito took control of Los Choneros after the death of the previous boss, José Luis Zambrano, known as Raquiña.