Armed forces and police of Ecuador In the past 19 days they have carried out 49,761 operations against organized crime under the protection of a “state of emergency” and “internal armed conflict” established by the government to stop violence unleashed by criminal gangs in prisons and on the streets.

This was announced this Saturday by the so-called “Security Axis”, composed of police and military commanders, organized by the government to carry out the call. “Plan Phoenix” against violence which reached dramatic heights earlier in the year.

According to the organization’s latest report, they have so far seized 5284 explosives, 1383 firearms1656 units of bladed weapons, 69346 cartridges and 959 feeders (magazines for bullets).

Over the past 19 days, security forces have detained 4,107 people. 237 of them are suspected of terrorismspecified in the report.

He clarified that 90 operations were directed against criminal groups. now classified by the executive branch as terrorists and that six persons were killed whom he placed in the same category.

He also recalled that during operations two policemen died in the performance of their duty and that no casualties were recorded among military personnel.

Likewise, he pointed out that 34 prisoners were released of almost 90 people who escaped from prisons where riots among prisoners occurred earlier in the year, which was one of the reasons for the government to declare a “state of emergency.”

During operations, agents also 831 vehicles were seized., 520 motorcycles and 28 boats; in addition to $83,119, 36.6 tons of drugs and 29,281 gallons of fuel (about 110,834 liters).

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The joint actions of the police and the military are conditioned by the application of a “state of emergency” and “internal armed conflict.” by decree of the government of President Daniel Noboa stop the spiral of violence unleashed by organized crime groups that rocked the country at the beginning of the year.

By declaring an “internal armed conflict,” the government identified at least 22 transnational organized crime groups and defined them as “terrorist organizations” and “militant non-state actors.”

According to experts, classifying these groups as warring parties opened the legal door so that the Armed Forces, together with the Police, act with all their resources to neutralize them.

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The spiral of violence unfolded immediately after President Noboa announced his decision to launch “Plan Phoenix” to regain control of prisons, many of which are dominated inside by groups of criminals whose rivalry killed more than 450 prisoners since 2020 in a series of prison murders.

This violence also spread to the streets until Ecuador became one of the most violent countrieswith 45 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. (EFE)