Quito, the capital of Ecuador, experienced a wave of violence on Thursday, including two car bombings and grenade attacks. This chaos was followed by the taking of at least 57 prison guards and police personnel as hostages by inmates in six different prisons, as reported by officials.
The prison uprising is suspected to be a response to a police operation carried out the previous day, aimed at confiscating weapons within the prisons. While there were no reported casualties, these coordinated attacks seem to be orchestrated by organized crime groups.
The two car bombs targeted the SNAI prison authority, with one explosion occurring near its headquarters and the other outside a building that once housed SNAI offices, according to AFP.
As hours passed, inmates in six prisons across the country managed to seize control, taking seven police officers and fifty prison guards as hostages, as confirmed by SNAI.
