Ecuadorian police announced the arrest of 68 suspected members of a criminal organization who wanted to take over a hospital where one of their own was.
Ecuadorian police arrested 68 suspected members of a criminal organization this Sunday who were trying to take over a hospital in a town in the province of Guayas, in the southwest of the country.
According to law enforcement, the group wanted “protect an injured member of their organization” who had been admitted to this hospital earlier in the morning. Firearms and drugs were also seized. A “reeducation center” clandestine, where “were hiding” suspected members of the organization, was also searched, police said.
Authorities recently closed several such centers, essentially clandestine hospitals run by gangs that authorities say lack the medical equipment needed to treat patients.
This operation took place while the country is going through a serious security crisis, which pits the government against numerous gangs thriving on global drug trafficking through Ecuador.