Images shared on social media by Ecuador's armed forces showed shirtless prisoners kneeling with their hands on their heads as armed soldiers entered seven prisons where a hostage crisis ended on Saturday night (January 13).
Prisoners huddle, guarded by police and armed forces, during an operation at Turi prison. Photo: REUTERS
The military said security forces were conducting searches and regaining control of the prisons.
“The national police respect the human rights of these people. We are doing it very calmly,” Norman Cano, the police chief at Esmeraldas prison, said on social media.
The hostages, including 158 guards and 20 administrative staff, had been held since last Monday in at least seven prisons before they were released.
According to Ecuadorian authorities, the armed groups appear to be reacting to President Daniel Noboa's anti-crime plan to address the country's serious violence in recent years.
Mai Anh (according to CNA)
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