POLICE STEP UP OPERATIONS IN ECUADOR’S GUAYAQUIL – Violent gang clashes erupted on Thursday afternoon, killing 22 people
Ecuadorean security forces were deployed on Friday (March 7) to the nation’s biggest city, Guayaquil, following gang violence that claimed over 20 lives, according to authorities.
Police and military personnel were dispatched to the Nuevo Prosperina neighborhood in northern Guayaquil after violent clashes erupted on Thursday (March 6) afternoon. The gun battles involved members of the criminal group Los Tiguerones, local police chief Pablo Davila reported to the press.
Police launched an offensive in response, carrying out around 200 searches and seizing guns and ammunition. Fourteen people, including two minors, were arrested in the area.
The government in recent weeks has doubled down on its response in Ecuador’s most violent regions, as part of President Daniel Noboa’s war on drug-trafficking gangs.
Los Tiguerones and other gangs are considered terrorist groups by the government.
