Quito: Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on Tuesday delivered 1,782 rifles to the national police to bolster its capacity to fight organised crime plaguing the South American country.
The weapons include 1,752 5.56 caliber rifles and 30 high-precision rifles.
At an official event in Duran in southwest Guayas province, Noboa ratified the government’s support for the police force, which along with the armed forces stepped up anti-crime operations after the president in January declared the country in a state of “internal armed conflict” against criminal gangs classified as “terrorists.”
“We have fought different criminal groups, arrested leaders of highly dangerous terrorist groups and seized drugs and weapons, and we remain firm in the fight against mafias. We are not going to stop until we achieve freedom for all of Ecuador,” the president said.
