2023-07-24 22:52:46
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has imposed a state of emergency and night-time curfews following the weekend’s violent riots. In the coastal provinces of Manabi and Los Rios, as well as in the city of Duran near Guayaquil, the state of emergency will be in place for 60 days, and the curfew will vary during this period, the government said on Monday.
Lasso has repeatedly declared a state of emergency as Ecuador grapples with prison riots and waves of violence across the country over structural problems. “We cannot deny that organized crime has permeated the state, political organizations and society itself, it is a problem that has been brewing for more than a decade,” he said following a security cabinet meeting.
The mayor of the coastal city of Manta was shot dead on Sunday. There were also riots and gang fights at the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison in Guayaquil over the weekend. At least six inmates were killed and 11 injured, according to the Snai Prison Authority. In the prisons of Cotopaxi, Azuay, Cañar, El Oro and Napo, prisoners took 96 guards hostage. Inmates in 13 Ecuadorian prisons have been on hunger strike since Sunday.
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