Head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces EcuadorJaime Vela announced this Wednesday that, in the operations carried out on Tuesday against the wave of attacks and riots caused by organized crime groups, “329 terrorists” and five were killed.

“We arrested 329 terrorists“We have eliminated five terrorists,” Vela said, summing up operations ordered by President Daniel Noboa, who declared an internal armed conflict on Tuesday amid a resurgence in gang violence. organized.

The head of the military department announced this at a press conference. there are no wounded or dead soldiersalthough two policemen were killed and one seriously injured.

He also pointed out that, according to the state prison agency, called the National Comprehensive Service for Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI), “There is not a single hostage killed”of the 139 that still exist among guards and administrative staff in the country’s five prisons where inmates rioted.

Last Monday groups of prisoners rioted in at least five prisons country and detained prison guards and staff, some of whom are still in captivity.

According to Vela, law enforcement They managed to free 41 people that they had been “kidnapped”, and it was said that 28 escaped prisoners had also been captured.

The military commander indicated that the operations were aimed primarily against groups known as “Tiguerones”, “Los Lobos” and “Los Choneros” and confirmed that the military forces suffered no casualties as a result of these actions.

He also said that during various operations carried out over the past two days, 61 firearms were seized, including other materials used by criminals.

Vela asked Ecuadorians to “have patience, hope and faith in their armed forces and police,” who have given all their strength to stop the tide of violence organized criminal groups.

He insisted that law enforcement agencies act in the current situation “so that peace reaches the entire country as quickly as possible.”

You might be interested > 139 prison workers are being held in five prisons in Ecuador, SNAI confirms

Vela also said law enforcement has formed an “elite team” to search for Jose Adolfo Macias. known under the pseudonym Fito and leader of the group Los Choneros.considered one of the most dangerous criminals and escaped from prison, where he was serving a sentence for numerous crimes, including drug trafficking and murder.

President Noboa signed a decree on Tuesday in which he assured the existence of an “internal armed conflict” due to the activities of transnational organized crime groups, which he called “terrorist organizations and militant non-state actors.”

You might be interested > What’s happening in Ecuador? Here we explain

He named identified criminal groups such as “Aguilas”, “AguilasKiller”, “Ak47”, “Dark Knights”, “ChoneKiller”, “Choneros”, “Coviceros”, “Cuartel de las Feas”, “Cubanos”, “Fatales”, “Ganster”, “Cutter Peeler”, “Lagartos”, “Latin Kings”, “Lobos”, “Los p.27”, “Tiburones”, “Mafia 18”, “Mafia Trebol”, “Patrons”, “R7” and “Tigerones” .

The head of state instructed law enforcement agencies to “neutralize” these groups. (EFE)