(Quito) Seven armed men were arrested on Sunday after bursting into a hospital in Ecuador where they took four people hostage, announced President Guillermo Lasso, whose country is mired in violence linked to drug trafficking.
The seven individuals entered the hospital around 8 p.m. to “murder alias Cara Sucia” – a criminal who according to local press was hospitalized there – authorities said.
According to the same source, the establishment and the coastal town of Chone (southwest) in which it is located, “are under control”.
The police operation “made it possible to arrest the seven criminals, free four hostages and save lives” at the Napoleón Dávila hospital, the president wrote on Twitter.
The seven assailants were armed with rifles and submachine guns with which they opened fire on the police, without causing any injuries, said a police official, General Edwin Noguera.
Ecuador has seen violence from criminal gangs associated with drug trafficking increase in recent years.
According to a UN report, Ecuador was the third country to record the most cocaine seizures in 2020, with 92.5 of the 1,424 tons confiscated worldwide, behind Colombia which accounts for 41% of seizures and the States States with 11%.