As of Tuesday morning, the country's security forces detained as many as 1,753 people in the said period, including 219 people over the past 24 hours, the office said in a blog post.
A total of 645 pieces of firearms and 488 pieces of explosives and explosive devices, nearly 15,000 rounds of ammunition, 400 vehicles, 235 motorbikes and 15 boats have been seized in 18,108 operational actions and 41 large-scale operations from January 9-16, the office added.
Violent unrest erupted in Ecuador at the beginning of last week after the prison break out by the leader of the Los Choneros gang, Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, also known as Fito, who is considered the most dangerous criminal in the country. Fabricio Colon Pico, the leader of Ecuador's second-largest criminal gang, Los Lobos, has also escaped from prison.
On January 8, Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency in Ecuador as multiple hostage-taking incidents took place in various cities and prisons. After that, riots broke out in a number of cities — on the night of January 9, criminals started burning cars and buses, using improvised explosive devices. Several police officers were kidnapped. On January 9, Noboa declared a state of internal armed conflict and ordered Ecuador's army to neutralize the criminal groups operating in the country.