According to what the institution announced on its social network X, so far 33 raids have been carried out in this South American nation and 10 in Spain, resulting in several detainees, as well as binding evidence and a considerable sum of money found.
The operations were carried out simultaneously. In Ecuador, raids were carried out in Quito, Guayas, El Oro, Santa Elena, Cotopaxi, Pichincha and Azuay. In Spain, the raids were carried out in Barcelona, Malaga, Marbella and Valencia, according to the National Police here.
Ecuador is going through an internal armed conflict declared by the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, on January 9, due to a wave of attacks and violent actions credited to organized crime.
These included the kidnapping of policemen, explosion alerts, vehicles set on fire, simultaneous riots in prisons with some 200 hostages who managed to be released and the seizure of a television channel by 13 armed hooded men, now detained. Since then, some 5,804 people have been arrested, among them 237 for alleged terrorism.
President Noboa’s decree demonstrates the extent to which criminal groups have expanded their power and their presence both in the prison system and in the streets.
We are in an armed conflict, not an international one, we are fighting for national peace, we are also fighting against terrorist groups, which today there are more than 20 thousand people who are part of them, the president emphasized last January.
jrr/arm/mem/nt