Ecuador Says 178 Prison Guards, Staff Held Hostage By Gangs

Gangsters were holding 178 prison guards and staff hostage, officials in Ecuador said Thursday, as a standoff between security forces and organized crime reached fever pitch.

The total was 39 more than the previous day, the SNAI prison authority said, as it reported riots in several penitentiaries with inmates shooting at members of the Ecuadoran armed forces.

The small South American country has been plunged into crisis after years of growing control by transnational cartels that use its ports to ship cocaine to the United States and Europe.

The widespread outburst of gang violence this week was sparked by the discovery on Sunday that one of the country's most powerful narco bosses, Jose Adolfo Macias, known by the alias "Fito," had escaped from prison.

On Monday, President Daniel Noboa imposed a state of emergency and nighttime curfew, but the gangs hit back with a declaration of "war" -- kidnapping police, setting off explosions, and threatening random executions.

At least 16 people have been killed so far in the violence.

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