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Over 4,500 people detained in Ecuador since start of riots

Over 200 police and corrections officers were released from captivity

HAVANA, January 31. /TASS/. Ecuador’s police and armed forces have detained 4,680 people since unrest broke out in the country triggered by gang-instigated prison riots in early January, the country’s police said.

"A total of 4,680 people have been detained, including 237 terrorist suspects," the police noted on X (formerly Twitter). Operations to combat crime involved over 57,000 law enforcement officers. More than 1,500 firearms, about 8,300 explosive devices and over 40 tons of drugs were seized.

Over 200 police and corrections officers were released from captivity.

The security situation in the country deteriorated sharply on January 7 after Los Choneros drug cartel leader Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, known by the alias "Fito," had escaped from prison, triggering riots in several of the country’s correctional facilities. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a nationwide state of emergency and imposed a curfew on January 8. The curfew was later lifted in 160 out of the country’s 221 cantons.

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