Chaos in Ecuador as cops are abducted during prison riots and cities rocked by explosions after feared Los Choneros gang boss 'Fito' escaped from jail sparking state of emergency

Ecuador has plunged into chaos following a series of attacks on Tuesday, including explosions and the abduction of several police officers, after the government imposed a state of emergency in the wake of the apparent escape of a powerful gang leader from prison.

Police said four officers were kidnapped on Monday night and remained missing, one in the capital, Quito, and three in Quevedo city.

Separately, agents arrested two people for possession of explosives and as suspects in at least one of the attacks in the South American country.

The government has not said how many attacks were registered in total, but local media reported several, including some in northern cities, where vehicles were set on fire, and others in Quito, including an explosion near the house of the president of the National Justice Court.

Authorities have not said who is thought to be behind the attacks and if the incidents are part an orchestrated action. 

Ecuadorian authorities are trying to get the security situation in the country under control 

The leader of Los Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as 'Fito', (pictured) wasn't in his cell on Monday night

Soldiers backing police forces stand guard outside El Inca prison in Quito on January 8, 2024

Inmates remain on the roof of the Turi prison, where prison guards are been held hostage, in Cuenca, Ecuador, on January 8, 2024

Members of military stand guard near the Presidential Palace (Palacio de Carondelet), following the disappearance of 'Fito' 

The government has previously accused members of the main drug gangs for similar strikes. 

In recent years, Ecuador has been engulfed by a surge of violence tied to drug trafficking, including homicides and kidnappings.

Ecuadorian authorities reported Sunday that the leader of Los Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as 'Fito', wasn't in his cell in a low security prison. He was scheduled to be transferred to a maximum security facility that day.

A government spokesperson said that Fito was tipped off about his move.  

His current whereabouts were unclear.

Prosecutors opened an investigation and charged two guards in connection with the alleged escape, but neither the police, the corrections system, nor the federal government confirmed whether Fito fled the facility or might be hiding in it.

In February 2013, he escaped from a maximum security facility but was recaptured weeks later.

Fito's low security prison was decorated with his own image

Police forces stand guard outside the Turi prison as inmates hold prison guards hostage, in Cuenca, Ecuador, on January 8, 2024

A family member of a prisoner walks in front of the El Inca jail during a security operation due to riots

Several police officers have been kidnapped by gangs

On Monday, President Daniel Noboa decreed a national state of emergency for 60 days

On Monday, President Daniel Noboa decreed a national state of emergency for 60 days, allowing the authorities to suspend rights and mobilise the military in places like prisons. The government also imposed a curfew from 11pm to 5am. 

Noboa said in an Instagram post that he wouldn't stop until he 'brings back peace to all Ecuadorians,' and that his government had decided to confront crime.

States of emergency were widely used by Noboa's predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, as a way to confront the wave of violence that has affected the country.

The wave of attacks began a few hours after Noboa's announcement.

Fito, who was convicted of drug trafficking, murder and organized crime, was serving a 34-year sentence in La Regional prison in the port of Guayaquil.

States of emergency were widely used by Noboa's predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, as a way to confront the wave of violence that has affected the country

Los Choneros is one of the Ecuadorian gangs authorities consider responsible for a spike in violence that reached a new level last year with the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio

Experts and authorities have acknowledged that gang members practically rule from inside the prisons

Fito was believed to have continued controlling his group from within the detention facility

Los Choneros is one of the Ecuadorian gangs authorities consider responsible for a spike in violence that reached a new level last year with the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The gang has links with Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, according to authorities. 

Experts and authorities have acknowledged that gang members practically rule from inside the prisons, and Fito was believed to have continued controlling his group from within the detention facility.

He took over leadership of the gang after its former boss, Jorge Luis Zambrano, was killed in 2020.

Though he has kept a low profile, in September he published a 'narcocorrido', a song that taunted authorities and praised his criminal exploits. 

The song sees two singers and his daughter sing his praises about his dedication to his family and his loyal followers. 

It also shows the drug lord in the prison courtyard chilling with his fellow inmates, and petting a cockerel.