Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, in office since November, announced a 60-day mobilization of soldiers, sending them into city streets and prisons as they search for fugitive gangster Jose Adolfo Macias, nicknamed “Fito.”
The President also announced that a curfew is being established from 11 pm to 5 am.
The state of emergency will give members of the armed forces “all political and legal support” to carry out their duties in the fight against “narco-terrorists”, the president said in an Instagram video.
“We will not negotiate with terrorists and we will not rest until we give peace to all Ecuadorians,” Noboa said.
Police found 44-year-old Los Choneros gang leader Fito missing on Sunday while checking a prison in the port city of Guayaquil. He is believed to have escaped a few hours before police arrived.
Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation and charged two prison officers involved in Fito’s escape.
Since 2011, Fito has been serving a 34-year prison sentence for organized crime, drug trafficking and murder. This is his second escape from prison. He escaped for the first time in 2013, but was caught three months later.
2024-01-09 05:18:54
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