- Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has declared a state of emergency and named 22 gangs as “terrorist” organizations.
- The government has asked lawmakers to consider increasing the value added tax (VAT) to fund efforts to combat crime gangs.
- There has been a spike in violence, including the storming of a TV station, hostage-taking of prison staff, and kidnapping of police officers, in response to the government’s plans to address the security situation.
- Eight prison staff have been released, but 170 hostages remain.
- The government is conducting operations to free hostages in multiple prisons.
- There have been criticisms from families and unions about the lack of information regarding the status of the hostages.
- The government has stated that no hostages have been killed and that some videos circulating on social media have been altered.
- Security in Ecuador has worsened due to economic troubles and the country’s external debt.
- President Noboa’s tax proposal aims to raise VAT by three points to 15% to increase potential tax collection for the state.
Source: freemalaysiatoday.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
