After the government of Ecuador decided to designate the criminal groups operating in the country as “terrorists”, the first actions to combat these organizations have already been launched.
Interior Minister Juan Zapata assured that “reorganization, re-adaptation, retraining and strengthening of the capacity of the police to combat the threat of terrorism” will be carried out.
Part of this training will be provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which will train some 1,700 uniformed Ecuadorian officers to fight criminal organizations considered terrorists.
In this regard, the General Commander of the National Police, Fausto Salinas, indicated that the training will be aimed at “preventive personnel” who will train in “Police Operations, Close Combat, Ambush Resolution, and Aimed Shots”.
The training will be supplemented by the provision of weapons. Upon completion of training, police officers will join tactical units such as the Intervention and Rescue Team (GIR), the Special Operations Team (GOE), and the National Drug Enforcement Administration, which have experience in dealing with gangs now considered terrorists.
On Monday, May 1, at an event held at the premises of the GIR in Quito, representatives of the National Police and the Ministry of the Interior presented the tools that the institution has to fight criminal organizations, as reported by the Ecuadorian network Ecuavisa.
Thus, several rifles, armored vehicles, Explosives detection and handling robots, US-donated controlled explosion bomb suitssurveillance and surveillance drones, communications equipment.
It should be noted that the wave of violence that Ecuador is experiencing has caused deep concern among the population. According to analysts consulted by Efe, this problem seems to have gotten out of the control of law enforcement agencies.
Ten people were killed in an armed attack last Saturday in the province of Guayas.in what was the second event of this magnitude after the massacre, also in April, in Esmeraldas, where nine people were shot while in a fishing port.
Source: La Opinion
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