“Security forces prevented a terrorist attack at detention center number 3, known as La Roca,” TASS writes, citing a statement from Ecuadorian law enforcement agencies. Many high-profile criminals are serving sentences at La Roca.
The attackers used a drone laced with explosives to disable the prison, police believe.
After discovering a large quadcopter with a charge attached to it on the roof, prison staff carried out a controlled detonation of a dangerous object, Ecuador’s Interior Ministry reported.
In 2024, the country experienced a sharp rise in crime. On January 7, the head of the Los Choneros crime family, José Macías Williams, escaped from La Roca. On January 9, President Daniel Noboa declared martial law in the country, following which riots broke out in several prisons. On the same day, more than 20 bandits took over the headquarters of the television company in Guayaquil.
