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The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, called for a meeting of the Security and State Council (Cosepe) for tomorrow, Thursday, after the attacks that occurred on Tuesday, mainly in Guayas and Esmeraldas, and in which five policemen died.
In this meeting with the Cosepe the security strategy will evaluated, and the actions carried out will be analyzed.
The Cosepe is integrated by the President and Vice President of the Republic, as well as the highest authorities of the National Assembly and the National Court of Justice.
In addition, the highest representatives of the National Secretariat of Public Security of the State, and the heads of the Ministries of Government, Foreign Affairs, Defense, the head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and the Police Commander, also form part of this Council.
Control of prisons
The Government attributes Tuesday’s series of attacks -most of them with explosives- to its decision to retake control of the prisons.
The Minister of Defense, Luis Lara, said that “the country contemplates with astonishment the actions of the drug trafficking mafias that, associated with hired killers and common criminals, try to intimidate Ecuadorians, unleashing a cowardly attack against police officers, detonating explosive devices and sowing terror in Guayaquil and Esmeraldas.”
In a press conference he expressed his solidarity with the families of the five policemen killed during the last hours in different attacks in the province of Guayas which, together with Esmeraldas, is since Tuesday under a state of emergency and curfew from 21:00 to 05:00.
“It is beyond any doubt that this is a reaction to the firm decision of the national government to retake control of prisons and strengthen actions to eradicate the drug business in the country,” he said.
He indicated that the Armed Forces support the Police “in this very complex moment for the country, in which it is required that the citizens support the urgent actions that have been taken to combat this wave of terror.”
“It is time for national unity to confront the mafias; it is a battle that the country is fighting to confront and defend the rights of Ecuadorians to live in peace, freedom and democracy,” he noted.
And he made an appeal not to generate rumors “nor encourage terrorists by publicizing their criminal acts, not to take advantage of the action of the mafiosi to favor obscure political interests.”
“The effective action of all the instances of the State is urgent in order to strengthen security and protect the lives of Ecuadorians,” said the minister before recalling that they require the legal instruments “to act with greater force against these criminal groups.”
Calling for unity, he said that “this is not the time for confrontations or defending particular interests. Ecuador is going to win this battle against crime, corruption, mafias, and groups that threaten democracy and freedom.”
Transfer of prisoners
The National Service of Integral Attention for Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI) informed on Wednesday that so far 1,002 inmates have been transferred from a prison in the province of Guayas.
The transfers were executed in two phases: 515 prisoners in the first phase and 487 in the second, according to SNAI, which assures that the changes seek to avoid overcrowding.
The Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, indicated that in the last hours there has been “tranquility in the country”, with only one incident when an explosive device detonated in a cemetery in the province of El Oro (south), without consequences.
He noted that so far 36 people have been arrested; and 21 firearms, 1,176 army supplies, 150,000 primers, 17,616 explosive blocks, 10 rifle grenades and 60 detonating capsules, among others, have been confiscated.
