State of Emergency Declared in Ecuador after Extreme Gang Related Violence - Bishops Call for Peace and Prayer

A declaration of a state of emergency has been declared in the South American country of Ecuador in response to extreme gang-related violence. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ecuador released a statement which calls for unity and fraternity to restore peace in the country.
This past week, Ecuador saw, the country's most-wanted prisoner escaping from jail, uprisings breaking out in several prisons, and inmates kidnapping and threatening guards.
On Sunday, Adolfo Macias, leader of the Los Choneros narco-criminal gang, disappeared from a prison in Guayaquil, where he was serving a 34-year sentence.
This incident was followed by violent incidents in several overcrowded prisons, where clashes between rival gangs are frequent and have killed more than 400 prisoners since 2021.
On Tuesday masked gunmen broke into a live television studio in Guayaquil, taking anchors and staff hostage and exchanging gunfire with the police. In addition, at least ten people were killed in the city, including two policemen. Explosions, burning vehicles, looting, gunfire, and assaults on hospitals were also reported in other cities, including the capital Quito, while authorities announced that a second major gang leader and other inmates had escaped from another prison.
The, recently elected President Daniel Noboa, who has prioritized restoring security and freeing the country from gang violence, declared an internal armed conflict on Tuesday and ordered the armed forces to “neutralize” two dozen gangs, describing them as “terrorist organizations.”
On the previous day, he had declared a 60-day state of emergency, imposing a nationwide overnight curfew and allowing the military to patrol the streets and take control of the prisons.
Bishops: 'Violence will not prevail'
Due to the emergency situation, the President of the Ecuadorian Bishops’ Conference (EEC) issued a statement titled "Violence will not prevail” in which they called on citizens not to fall into panic and be conditioned by social media, while reminding them that the fight against gangs is not only the concern of the government but of every citizen.
They reject violence "from whatever side it may come," the EEC stated that in the current exceptional circumstances, Ecuadorians must stay united “with an eye towards the future and with the strength necessary to make Ecuador what it has always been: a place of peace, work, and fraternity."
The bishops further remarked that “any illegal activity, at any level of society and state, must be considered a betrayal of the homeland, of the most sacred values of our Ecuadorian identity and of God, who will be the judge of our lives."
According to the Ecuadorian bishops, it is, therefore, necessary to recover the values of fraternity and peace. “We are a country of faith. Ever since we were children, we have been taught that we are all brothers, calling God our Father," they said.
The bishops end by assuring their prayers for "the integrity of every good Ecuadorian and the stability of the State as a guarantee for peace to return to the country as soon as possible." (with Information from Vatican News)