More than 130 Ecuador prison staff held hostage as armed forces target crime gangs – World

GUAYAQUIL/QUITO: More than 130 prison guards and other staff are being held hostage by inmates in at least five prisons around Ecuador, which is reeling from an escalation of violence in recent days.

President Daniel Noboa, who took office in November promising to tackle a growing security problem caused by drug trafficking gangs increasingly transporting cocaine through Ecuador, on Tuesday…