Quito/Prensa Latina
Seven men in military uniforms were found dead today in the back of a truck in Ecuador, an event that took place while a state of emergency is in force in this nation.
The massacre occurred in a rural area on the outskirts of the town of Joya de los Sachas, in the Amazon province of Orellana, where a night curfew is in effect.
However, at night a shooting was heard, said the Chief of Police in Orellana, Henry Coral, in a press conference.
According to him, a criminal gang may be behind the crime, although he did not give names and assured that the investigations continue.
The seven victims were wearing military clothing similar to that used by the Armed Forces, however, that institution stated in a statement that none of them belonged to its troops.
According to the official note from the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, in the area they found three assault rifle-type firearms, two hand-made long weapons, two feeders with 5.56 millimeter ammunition, a nine millimeter pistol, and four 1,350 nine millimeter caliber ammunition.
When declaring in early January the existence of an internal armed conflict against organized crime, President Daniel Noboa identified 22 transnational organized crime groups as terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors.
In this way, the president opened a legal door for the military and police to act with all their resources to neutralize the criminals.
The head of state has ratified on several occasions his support for the work of law enforcement officers, although there are complaints from citizens and civil organizations of alleged violations of rights by uniformed officers.
The most recent balance released by the Executive indicates that in 50 days of operations the number of detainees reached 10,569, of them 268 arrested for alleged terrorism.
As the number of detainees increases, doubts grow about where they are and how many have been legally prosecuted.
Data from the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) cited in the newspaper La Hora indicate that only 494 of the more than 10,000 detainees have a legal process underway, that is, five percent.
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