More than 50 police officers in this country were held hostage by prisoners during the riots
On August 31st, according to a report by Efi, 57 prison guards and police officers in Ecuador continued to be held hostage by prisoners in the prison in the southern city of Cuenca. Since the 30th, prisoners there have been continuously inciting riots, opposing government intervention to disarm criminal gangs within the prison.
Ecuadorian Minister of the Interior Juan Zapata detailed at a press conference that there are 50 prison guards and 7 police officers among the people held hostage by prisoners in the prison.
A video allegedly recorded inside the Kunka prison has gone viral on social media, apparently featuring the kidnapped police and prison guards calling on the government to find a solution for their release.
In this video, a police officer demands that the administrative department "not make decisions that violate the human rights of those deprived of their freedom.". 400 soldiers and 200 police officers have been deployed around the prison, and they have not entered the prison since August 30th.
Sapata admitted, "We are concerned about the safety of our officials, including police and prison staff." He said that the authorities have taken a series of actions to protect the detainees, but for safety reasons, relevant information cannot be disclosed.
The riots at Kunka Prison were initially aimed at protesting the intervention of the police and armed forces in the Lata Kunga Prison in Kotopashi Province on the 30th.
The operation carried out by the authorities in Latakonga Prison aims to confiscate weapons held by prisoners. 49 knives, 2 bulletproof vests, some ammunition, 13 gallons of homemade alcohol, 39 mobile terminals, 5 mobile phone chips, etc. have been confiscated.