Daniel Noboa rules out negotiating with criminal groups that are promoting a wave of violence. Itamaraty says it is monitoring the kidnapping of a Brazilian.
(DW) The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, said on Wednesday (10/01) that his country is in a “state of war” after a series of violent actions carried out by organized crime gangs that led him to declare an internal armed conflict. The head of government said that he does not intend to negotiate or give in to these groups, which he describes as “terrorists”.
The wave of violence has left at least 10 people dead. There have been prison riots, criminal escapes, attacks on police stations and police kidnappings. More than 130 prison officers and other staff were being held hostage by inmates in at least five prisons.
The crisis began on Monday, following the escape from prison of criminal José Adolfo Macías, better known as “Fito” and head of one of the country’s most feared criminal factions.
On Tuesday, Noboa classified 22 gangs as terrorist organizations, making them official military targets. On the same day, kidnappings, invasions and explosions were reported in cities across the country,
The president took office in November promising to solve the growing public security problem caused by the expansion of drug trafficking gangs that use Ecuador as a route for cocaine.
The government says the wave of violence is a reaction to Noboa’s plan to build a new high-security prison for gang leaders.
“We can’t give in to the terrorists”
“We are in a state of war and we cannot give in to these terrorists,” said Noboa in his first public speech since the start of this insecurity crisis.
In an interview with Radio Canela, Noboa declared that the violent actions of recent days are the response of criminal groups to the actions that his administration is taking to stop the escalation of insecurity that has made Ecuador one of the most violent countries in the world.
After the Executive declared these gangs to be military targets, the president considered that these groups will think twice before carrying out actions such as the seizure of the premises of a television station, as happened on Tuesday.
“They’re not going to subjugate the president”
In Noboa’s opinion, the criminal gangs want to broadcast these images to cause terror and try to subdue the President of the Republic, “but they won’t succeed”.
“We’re not going to negotiate with the terrorists,” reiterated Noboa, stressing that work is underway to rescue prison guards who are still being held by inmates who are members of these criminal groups in various prisons across the country.
“We’re not going to give in to the stupid things they’re used to doing,” continued the president, commenting that his will be stricter than previous governments, “because the Armed Forces have to act against these military targets.”
“We’re doing everything possible and impossible to bring them back safely, but we can’t prevent a war because of that, because the state is at war,” he stressed.
The Ecuadorian president also warned judges and prosecutors who issue favorable rulings to criminal gang leaders or members that they will also be considered and treated as terrorists.
“Who wants to help?”
As for Ecuador’s international image, Noboa stressed that now is not the time to “say that nothing happens in Ecuador and that everything is beautiful”.
“That would be trying to deceive the international community. Now we’re telling them that we’re in a state of war. Who wants to help? Let’s solve the problem, which has to be done soon, and then it will be easier for investors and tourists to come,” he said.
He also said that if these measures weren’t taken now, it would be “prolonging death, sustaining something unsustainable”.
Noboa also thanked countries such as the United States, China, Israel, Peru, Argentina and Colombia for their help. The government has offered to take custody of around 1,500 Colombian prisoners in Ecuadorian jails, which would allow them to reduce prison overcrowding.
Last Monday, the Ecuadorian president decreed a state of emergency throughout the country due to the violent actions of organized crime groups, especially because of the riots in six prisons and the escape of prisoners considered highly dangerous, including Fito and Fabricio Colón Pico.
The burning of vehicles, kidnappings and threats to police and prison guards, attacks with explosives and the invasion of a television station in Guayaquil by armed hooded men have further exacerbated the situation in Ecuador.
Brazilian kidnapped
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its embassy in Quito, the Ecuadorian capital, has informed that it is following the situation in the country and the measures taken by the local authorities to free a Brazilian kidnapped by criminal organizations, as well as providing assistance to his family.
Thiago Allan Freitas, 38, was kidnapped in the city of Guayaquil. He is from São Paulo and has lived in Ecuador for around three years, where he has a company that makes Brazilian barbecue.
md (EFE, EBC, ots) *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***