40 hostages released in Ecuador

WORLD, Jan. 14 (YPA) – More than 40 Ecuador prison officials taken hostage by inmates have been freed, the prisons authority said Saturday

The prisons authority did not provide details on the circumstances of their release, but said only in a statement that 133 guards and three employees continue to be held hostage.

According to previous figures, 175 guards and staff have been held hostage since the unprecedented security crisis affecting the country, which has been torn apart by the violence of criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking.

The army and police carried out “interventions to restore order and normal life” inside prisons in six cities.

E.M