Ecuador's Interior Minister Juan Zapata announced that inmates inside a prison in the city of Cuenca, in the south of the country, had been protesting since Wednesday against the transfer of prisoners to other facilities, holding 57 guards and police officers hostage.

Amid a day of violence that witnessed the explosion of two car bombs in the capital Quito, Zapata said that 7 of the hostages were police officers, adding during a press conference: "We are concerned for the safety of our personnel."

On Wednesday, hundreds of soldiers and police carried out a search for weapons, ammunition, and explosives at the Latacunga prison, one of the largest prisons in the country.

Throughout Thursday, speculations grew about the reasons for the hostage situation in Cuenca, with the prison administration initially discussing the possibility of a retaliatory action following the military intervention in Latacunga.

However, authorities later stated that the hostage-taking was "a sign of protest against the transfer of prisoners to other prisons."

About 430 inmates have died in the Latin American country since 2021.
Groups linked to drug trafficking are waging a war to assert their authority in the prisons, which have become operational centers.
In response to this wave of violence between gang-related organizations, President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency on July 24 for the entire prison system for 60 days, allowing in particular the deployment of the military in the prisons.