Dozens were arrested in Ecuador after gangsters attacked a hospital

Baghdad-INA
Police in Ecuador arrested 68 people who tried to take control of a hospital in the midst of the “war” between drug gangs and security forces taking place in the country.

The police reported on the
The police expressed their belief that the detainees were trying to rescue a friend of theirs who had been admitted to the hospital injured hours earlier, noting that weapons and drugs had been seized.
The police added that they also raided a medical center used as a gang headquarters, in addition to a brothel where many gangsters were hiding.
The Ecuadorian authorities recently closed hundreds of these centers, which officials say are not qualified to provide care for patients and are used by gangs as a cover to conduct their criminal activities.
Ecuador was recently swept by a wave of violence sparked by the escape of drug trafficker Adolfo Macias, known as “Vito,” from prison. President Daniel Noboa imposed a state of emergency and declared “war” against the gangs.
The United States also announced on Sunday that it would send a delegation to Ecuador “to consider options to accelerate bilateral security cooperation to confront threats posed by transnational criminal organizations.”
A statement from the US Embassy in Ecuador said that the delegation will meet from Monday to Thursday with senior officials and “representatives of civil society at the forefront of the war against corruption.”
The statement added that Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas Chris Dodd will head the delegation, which also includes Laura Richardson, the highest-ranking military official in the Pentagon for the Latin American region.
The number of criminal gangs in the country is about 20, and approximately 20,000 people belong to them, and their activities have expanded in recent years in drug smuggling to the United States and Europe.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Cesar Suarez, who was investigating the storming of a television station by an armed gang, was shot dead in the coastal city of Guayaquil.
Media reports said on Sunday that Suarez was investigating members of Vito’s family who were arrested on Friday in Argentina and repatriated.
An emergency meeting dedicated to Ecuador began on Sunday in Lima, Peru, with the participation of neighboring countries that are members of the Andean Community.
These countries, namely Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, are seeking to take joint measures against the expansion of drug trafficking gangs, after these activities called for alert in the border areas.
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said during the meeting, which was also attended by representatives of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador, that “transnational organized crime attacks the democracy and internal order of all our countries. This requires joint action.”