In the midst of recent violent clashes between criminal gangs and state security forces in Ecuador, 41 prison officers who had been taken hostage have been released.
A total of 24 prison guards and 17 administrative staff have been released, the penitentiary authority announced on Saturday.
However, 136 prison officers are still being held by prisoners in several prisons throughout the South American country. One guard was killed and another injured in fights in one prison, the statement added.
Criminal gangs had recently rioted in several prisons and seized numerous guards.
Many prisons in Ecuador are controlled by criminal syndicates. The security forces often only ensure that the prisoners remain in the prisons and prisoners are largely left to their own devices within the walls.
After gunmen stormed a studio of the state television station TC Televisión during a live news programme on Tuesday and took numerous hostages, the government sent the armed forces into battle against the gangs.
President Daniel Noboa declared that Ecuador was in the midst of an internal armed conflict and that 22 criminal groups were considered to be terrorist organizations that needed to be eliminated.
The security situation in Ecuador has recently deteriorated dramatically.
The murder rate of 46.5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants last year was the highest in the history of the once peaceful Andean country and one of the highest in Latin America.
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