Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa laid out plans for two new high-security prisons on Thursday, part of his pledge to wage war on drug gangs, as the families of nearly 180 prison staff being held hostage by inmates demanded action to rescue them. A dramatic spike in violence this week - including the on-air storming of a TV station, unexplained explosions in multiple cities, and the kidnapping of police officers - appears to be a response by gangs to Noboa's plans to tackle the country's dire security situation, including with the new jails. Since Monday, 158 prison guards and 20 administrative staff have been taken hostage in at least seven prisons.
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By Alexandra Valencia and Tito Correa QUITO/LATACUNGA, Ecuador (Reuters) -Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa laid out plans for two new high-security prisons on Thursday, part of his pledge to wage war on drug gangs, as the families of nearly 180 prison staff being held hostage by inmates demanded action to rescue them. A dramatic spike in violence this week - including the on-air storming of a TV station, unexplained explosions in multiple cities, and the kidnapping of police officers - appears to be a response by gangs to Noboa s plans to tackle the country s dire security situation, including with the new jails. Since Monday, 158 prison guards and 20 administrative staff have been taken hostage in at least seven prisons. But there has been little information released on the status of the hostages by authorities. The guards families and union criticized the government s response on Thursday. Tonight it will be five nights where we don t know anything about our husbands, sons, daughte
QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa detailed plans for two new high-security prisons on Thursday, part of his pledge to wage war on drug gangs that his government blames for a wave of violence and the detention of nearly 180 prison staff by inmates.