Ecuador’s Noboa Declares Emergency After Drug Lord Escapes Jail

Break highlights country’s struggle to control crime, prisons
Renewed rioting reported at other facilities on Monday

Ecuadorean soldiers stand guard outside a prison after a riot in Aug. 2023. The January escape of a notorious drug lord led to new reports of riots and highlighted the country’s struggles to control its prison system.Photographer: RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP

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By Stephan Kueffner

January 8, 2024 at 12:03 PM EST

Updated on

January 8, 2024 at 5:35 PM EST

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President Daniel Noboa on Monday declared a 60-day state of emergency after one of Ecuador’s most notorious drug lords escaped prison and renewed rioting broke out at other penitentiaries across the Andean nation.

The state of emergency includes a partial nightly curfew amid a manhunt of more than 3,000 police officers and soldiers to recapture Adolfo Macias, the head of the Los Choneros crime gang, after prison guards on Sunday noticed his absence from a penitentiary in Guayaquil.