GUAYAQUIL (AFP) – Ecuador extended by a month a state of emergency in place since the August assassination of presidential candidate and anti-graft crusader Fernando Villavicencio, the presidency announced.
The extension comes shortly after seven Colombians arrested over Villavicencio’s killing were found dead in prison.
Six of the suspects were killed on Friday in the Guayas 1 prison in the port city of Guayaquil, while a seventh was found dead on Saturday in a prison in the capital Quito.
“With the extension of the state of emergency, the government guarantees the participation of the armed forces and the police in the fight against organised and common crime,” President Guillermo Lasso’s communications office said on X, formerly Twitter.
Lasso announced a reorganisation of the country’s police leadership, with the force’s general commander, investigations chief and prisons director removed from their posts.
His office also said it would file a criminal complaint against the director of the Guayaquil prison where the prisoners were said to have died amid disturbances.
