Some 48 prisoners escaped from a prison in northern Ecuador during an investigation, prison agency SNAI said on Monday, as the government vowed to continue security force operations across the country.

President Daniel Noboa a week ago declared a 60-day state of emergency, including a night curfew, and said the country had suffered internal conflict since the appointment. 22 criminal groups as terrorists.

The rise in violence this week, including an attack on a television station, unexplained explosions in several cities and police kidnappings, appears to be a response to the new president’s plans to address a serious security crisis.

Police and the military are intervening in the country’s prisons following the release of about 200 prison guards and administrative officials who were being held in at least seven prisons over the weekend.

The prisoner escape took place on Sunday at a prison in the city of Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia, after a search operation that involved about 2,000 troops, including police and military, SNAI said in a statement.

As a result of the investigation, the escape of 48 persons deprived of liberty (PLL) was evident, he added, noting that five prisoners were recaptured.

During the same intervention, security forces were informed of death of a prisoner who was in this prison, SNAI reported, without providing details.

The government said security forces have detained more than 1,500 people and carried out 41 operations against terrorist groups since the state of emergency came into force.

Operations in the country will continue this week, the government said in a separate statement.

“The goal is clear: to be intolerant of those who intimidate and take advantage of citizens,” the government said in a statement.

Noboa, in power since November, has promised, among other things, to keep gang leaders in new high-security prisons. (Reuters).