Ecuador declares state of emergency after five police officers slain

El Telegrafo, a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Ecuador, reported that at least five police officers were killed in gang wars that wracked the coastal provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas in Ecuador. As a result, President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in the two provinces.

On Tuesday, Lasso declared a State of Exception in Guayas and Esmeraldas following the incident. The President referred to these actions as “sabotage and terrorism” during the press conference. According to El Telegrafo, he declared that “they are a declaration of war against the government and you, the citizenry.”

In addition to announcing a State of Exception, the President also said that he would personally oversee the Guayaquil-based Unified Command Post. El Telegrafo claimed that he also confirmed that the curfew would begin at 9:00 pm.

The deaths of Hugo Davila, Jimmy Sarango, and Marlon Iza were police officers, and their deaths in Duran and Guayaquil have been confirmed by the National Police of Ecuador. Five police officers were added to the death toll after their announcement.

“The murder of our companions #SgosHugoDavila, #CbosJimmySarango and #CbosMarlonIza, who were victims of criminal attacks, in #Duran and #GYE. Peace at the grave of our police heroes and strength to their families,” the National Police of Ecuador tweeted.

Taking to Twitter, the General Commander of the National Police of Ecuador said, “The criminal acts that mourn our country are inadmissible, we have apprehended several individuals who cowardly attacked the humanity of our POLICE OFFICERS We demand respect for life and honour the value and sacrifice of each police server.”

Regarding the investigation, National Police further tweeted, “We respond with determination by capturing the perpetrators of the latest attacks against police servers in the #Zona8 2 GUNS 3 pistols different calibre ammunition 2 vehicles and more clues.”