QUITO, Nov 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least five Ecuadorean police officers were killed on Tuesday in explosive attacks in response to prisoner transfers from overcrowded and violent penitentiaries, prompting President Guillermo Lasso to declare a state of emergency in two provinces.
Lasso declared a state of emergency in the two coastal provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas, which were hit by 12 attacks overnight.
Security forces will intensify operations to guarantee the safety of citizens in both provinces, where “a curfew starts at nine at night,” Lasso said in a message to the nation on television.
The measure was adopted after the two provinces, considered the most violent in Ecuador, experienced 12 violent attacks on Monday night and early Tuesday morning, which the government attributed to drug mafias.
Several community police units were attacked with explosives and a patrol vehicle was attacked by criminals with firearms, leaving at least five policemen dead.
“These acts of sabotage and terrorism are a declaration of open war against the rule of law, the government, and against all of you, the citizens. We did not allow it! I am here and I have arranged to act harshly within the framework of the law,” said the president.
Lasso, who canceled a personal vacation trip to the United States because of the attacks, has repeatedly used emergency declarations to try and counter violence.
