Colón Pico was captured on Friday as part of a kidnapping investigation and has also been accused of trying to murder one of the nation’s lead prosecutors. On Tuesday, Ecuadorean officials announced that another gang leader, Fabricio Colón Pico of the Los Lobos group, had escaped from a prison in the town of Riobamba. He was scheduled to be transferred to a maximum security facility that day. The government has not said how many attacks have taken place since authorities announced that Los Choneros gang leader Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito,” was discovered missing from his cell in a low security prison Sunday. Ecuadorian law establishes a penalty of up to 13 years in prison for anyone convicted of terrorism. It tweeted that it will present the charges in coming hours. It also said the country had entered an internal armed conflict.Įcuador’s attorney general’s office said the 13 people arrested will be charged with terrorism.
Shortly after the gunmen stormed the TV station, Noboa issued another decree designating 20 drug trafficking gangs operating in the country as terrorist groups and authorizing Ecuador’s military to “neutralize” them within the bounds of international humanitarian law.
