Dozens of Ecuador prison staff freed after being held by inmates

Soldiers and police officers prepare to inspect people, amid the ongoing wave of violence around the nation, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, January 13, 2024. REUTERS

QUITO — Forty-two prison staff members who had been held by inmates at prisons in Ecuador amid a sharp uptick in violence were freed or escaped, the SNAI prisons agency said on Saturday.

They were among 178 guards and administrative staffers that had been held hostage since Monday in at least seven prisons as a security crisis escalates in the South American country.

The SNAI said in a statement there had been incidents at several prisons, including an armed confrontation with inmates at the prison in El Oro province that resulted in the death of a guard. An injured guard remained inside the prison, the statement said.

Forty-one prison staffers had been freed while one guard had escaped his captors at a prison in Loja, it added.

The police and the armed forces were continuing to carry out operations at prisons and around the country. More than 800 people have been arrested since a state of emergency began on Monday.

Ecuador is grappling with a security crisis that worsened this week with the on-air storming of a TV station, unexplained explosions in several cities and the kidnapping of police officers.

Armed groups appear to be reacting to President Daniel Noboa’s plans to tackle the dire security situation, according to the government.