State of emergency declared in Ecuador following drug lord's escape

As a manhunt for mobster Jose Adolfo Macias, also known as "Fito," was beginning, President Daniel Noboa, who has been in office since November, announced the mobilization of soldiers for a period of sixty days in Ecuador's jails and streets.

The president also announced a daily curfew from 11:00 pm until 5:00 am.

In an Instagram video, Noboa declared that the state of emergency will provide military personnel with “all the political and legal support” they require to perform their jobs in the fight against “narco-terrorists.”

"Until we bring peace back to all Ecuadorians, we will not negotiate with terrorists or take a break," declared Noboa.

Police in the port city of Guayaquil discovered the strong Los Choneros gang leader AWOL on Sunday as they were inspecting a prison.

According to presidential spokesperson Roberto Izurieta, the 44-year-old, who is claimed to have terrorized his fellow prisoners, is thought to have fled a few hours before police arrived. Someone had tipped him off.

Izurieta said to domestic TV on Monday, "The full force of the state is being deployed to find this extremely dangerous individual."

He lamented "the level of infiltration" by criminal organizations and declared that the jail system had failed.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office announced that it had launched an inquiry and brought charges against two prison guards who were "allegedly involved in Fito's escape."

Since 2011, the gang boss has been incarcerated for 34 years on charges of organized crime, drug trafficking, and murder. 

This is his second jail break; the first occurred in 2013, and he was apprehended again after three months.

Following the killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in August of last year, Fito was moved to a maximum security jail in an operation involving thousands of security forces.

Fito Long, a safe haven between major cocaine exporters Colombia and Peru, was the source of threats Villavicencio, the anti-cartel candidate, claimed a week before he passed away. In recent years, violence in Ecuador has increased dramatically as rival gangs with ties to the Mexican and Colombian cartels compete for dominance.

Gang battles are mostly fought in the nation's prisons, where criminal bosses like Fito have tremendous power.

Since 2021, the battles have claimed the lives of about 460 prisoners; their remains are sometimes discovered burned, severed, or beheaded.

Fito was described by Izurieta as a “criminal with extremely dangerous characteristics, whose activities have characteristics of terrorism.” Fito studied law while incarcerated.

"The hunt is still ongoing. The spokesperson declared, "He will be found; he must be found."

According to the SNAI prison authority, following his departure, disturbances occurred at prisons in six of Ecuador's 24 regions on Monday, with guards at some of the establishments being taken hostage.

After heavily armed police and troops stormed El Oro, Loja, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Azuay, and Pichincha jails, the military released pictures of prisoners rounded up in their underwear in courtyards.

According to the SNAI, none of the "incidents" had resulted in any injuries.