The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, announced this Monday that
a "traffic light" of the curfew will be applied
, which has been in force in the country since last January 8 due to the security crisis unleashed at the beginning of the year, attributed to an onslaught of criminal groups that he calls terrorists.
Noboa announced in an interview with Teleamazonas television that he will announce the measure with which
the cantons will have different
curfew hours and different regulations.
Army tanks patrol the streets of Portoviejo.
Photo: AP
With the measure,
the reactivation of the economy is supported
because, otherwise, it will not only deal "a blow" to tourism but also to the small businessman, the entrepreneur, to the economy in general, he added.
"We also cannot allow these narcoterrorist groups
to destroy our way of living
and our daily work," commented the president.
Extend state of exception?
Noboa decreed a state of exception, with a curfew
from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
at a time when a series of attacks were taking place when law enforcement forces were trying to locate Adolfo Macías 'Fito', leader of the criminal gang 'Los Choneros'. , to transfer him to a maximum security prison.
The army patrols a neighborhood in the south of Quito.
Photo: AFP
The search began on Sunday the 7th, when they discovered that the prisoner, one of the most dangerous in the country,
had escaped
.
According to the decree, the state of emergency
will last sixty days
, with the option of thirty days of extension.
"I think so, as of today, as I see things,
we are going to have to extend those 30 more days
. The work of the Armed Forces and the Police is working, and we are dealing strong blows to these narcoterrorist groups," said Noboa. .
He asserted that at this moment they cannot stop: "
We cannot rest
and we cannot believe that this has been solved in two weeks. We must continue fighting."
"We cannot rest," warns President Daniel Noboa.
Photo: AFP
According to official reports, security operations have detained 2,763 people during the first thirteen days of the Government's declaration of an "internal armed conflict" against organized crime, of which 158 were arrested for alleged terrorism.
Between January 9 and 21, the authorities claim to have killed
five alleged members
of these gangs now classified as terrorists, while two police officers were murdered and another eleven were freed from different kidnappings apparently carried out by these mafias.
During that period, 1,003 firearms, 1,222 bladed weapons, 126 gun feeders, more than 35,700 bullets and 4,802 explosives have been seized.
Ecuadorian law enforcement agencies have also seized more than
10 tons of drugs and more than $23,100 in cash.
Security operations have left 2,763 people detained during the first thirteen days.
Photo: AFP
According to the Government, the
daily average
of violent deaths has dropped from
28 to 6
due to the actions taken regarding security.
In the work to improve security, Noboa believes that the entity in charge of prisons (SNAI) must be "completely" reformed and that there must be a
"permanent presence of the military" in the penitentiary system.
The military has been in charge of the country's security since January 9, when the Government declared an internal armed conflict against crime and identified 22 criminal groups as terrorists.
EFE