"Ecuador's Bold Prison Crackdown: Soldiers Swarm Gang-Infested Facility"
Ecuador's crackdown on gangs escalated as hundreds of soldiers stormed a prison to regain control after the escape of a notorious crime boss, while also arresting suspects linked to the killing of a prosecutor. The government's response to gang violence included imposing a state of emergency and nightly curfew, deploying thousands of soldiers and police, and carrying out over 23,000 operations resulting in 2,174 arrests. The violence is attributed to a power vacuum created by the killing of a previous gang leader, leading to territorial disputes and control battles among rival gangs with links to transnational cartels from Colombia and Mexico.
