Ministry Ensures No Indonesian Victims in Ecuadorian Riots

Ecuador – The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that no Indonesian citizens (WNI) who became victims during the Ecuadorian riots. 

"Based on communication with the Indonesian citizen community, until now, no Indonesian citizens have become victims," said the Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha on Friday.

According to records from the Indonesian Embassy in Quito, the total number of Indonesian citizens currently in Ecuador is 48 people.

Some of them are Indonesian citizens who work as priests or missionaries spread across remote areas outside the Guayaquil region. 

Meanwhile, the others are staff and family of the Indonesian Embassy who live in the capital city of Quito.

"In particular, the Indonesian Embassy has also monitored the condition of Indonesian citizens in Guayaquil," Nugraha stated. 

"One female Indonesian citizen was recorded as residing in the area, but currently the person concerned was observed to be outside the Equador region,"

Nugraha explained that the Indonesian Embassy continues to communicate with Indonesian citizens and prepare contingency plans to anticipate if an escalation gets worse.

The Ecuadorian government has declared a state of emergency on January 8, 2024, which was triggered by riots in the Guayaquil region by armed gangs.

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa declared war on drug cartels after three days of violence, as the gangs clashed with the country's armed forces.

Armed clashes have so far left 11 dead. Authorities also reported acts of violence such as vehicle burnings, blockades and bombings in a number of provinces.

Meanwhile, the national penitentiary announced on Wednesday that inmates had taken 139 prison guards hostage.

The wave of violence in the country was triggered by the escape of Jose Adolfo Macias, alias "El Fito", the leader of "Los Choneros", a violent organization that controls the narcotics trade in the country and is thought to be a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexican criminal syndicate.