Ecuador
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said on Wednesday that the country would begin deporting foreign prisoners to reduce the number and costs involved in Ecuadorian prisons. This is especially true of Colombians, says Noboa. He points out that about 1,500 Colombians are imprisoned in Ecuador, and that Colombians, Venezuelans and Peruvians make up 90 percent of the foreign prisoners in the country’s prisons. More than 130 prison guards and other staff are being held hostage by inmates in at least five prisons around Ecuador. Earlier this week, a state of emergency was declared in Ecuador following the escape of drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias from prison. /ritzau/Reuters/