July 5, 2024
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Ecuadorian police have freed 49 people who were being held hostage by a drug cartel at a mine, authorities said Friday.
The victims rescued on Wednesday included one minor and three women who had been held by a gang known as Los Lobos, one of Ecuador’s main drug trafficking organizations, the office of President Daniel Novoa told X-News.
The miners were found with their hands and feet tied and police sources said they had been held captive for two days.
Noboa’s office said the raid took place in the Andean department of Azuay and police seized large amounts of weapons and explosives.
The ministry released video footage of the hostage rescue operation.
Armed police and soldiers were seen entering the mine’s underground chambers, during which they came under attack from several assailants, said Jose Vargas, the area’s police chief.
Ecuador is enduring an unprecedented wave of violence linked to drug trafficking.
The country, with its Pacific port, is a transit hub for cocaine produced in Colombia and Peru and sent to the United States and Europe.
{“jamaica-observer”:”Jamaica Observer”}
