The document states that these restricted security zones will be classified as secret, under the control and responsibility of the Armed Forces, without implying military ownership of the locations.

The text recalls that on April 7, 2024, after declaring the existence of an internal armed conflict to combat organized crime, Noboa instructed the Ministries of Defense and the Interior to prepare studies and technical reports on security zones in the country’s prisons.

Since then, the government has ordered the surveying of prison security perimeters, their establishment and control according to the type of penitentiary, as well as the implementation of anti-drone technology, which includes the remote inhibition or downing of drones.

The government also ordered the jamming of signals and control of access to telecommunications, the prohibition of tunnel or underground construction, and the restriction of horizontal or vertical buildings within the perimeters defined as security areas.

The government considers Ecuador’s prisons to be one of the main sources of criminal violence in the country.

Since 2021, nearly 600 inmates have been murdered inside penitentiary centers, mostly during clashes between rival gangs.

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