Ecuador's presidency has announced that nearly 900 people have been arrested since Tuesday in a national security operation to prevent an outbreak of gang violence.
The presidency says that 94 of the 859 people arrested are members of what they call "terrorist" groups, writes CNN.
Ecuador has been hit by explosions, police kidnappings and prison riots in a wave of violence that began with the prison break of one of Ecuador's most powerful drug lords last weekend.
Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, declared on Tuesday that the country is in a state of internal armed conflict, ordering security forces to neutralize several criminal gangs accused of spreading extreme violence.
Noboa also named 22 criminal gangs as "terrorist" organizations in the presidential decree.
In a further move, the Ecuadorian government announced Thursday that foreigners who want to enter the country from Colombia or Peru will have to provide a criminal record certificate in a measure designed to "prevent and control the entry of individuals who constitute a threat or danger to public safety".
Noboa has claimed that 90% of foreign prisoners in Ecuador are Colombian, Peruvian and Venezuelan.
The violence was sparked by the escape of high-profile gang leader Adolfo "Fito" Macías from a prison in Guayaquil on Sunday.
After Fito's escape and statement, Ecuador's prison agency reported incidents in at least six prisons in different provinces.
The criminal gangs then launched a wave of violent attacks in a show of force designed to discourage attempts to crack down on their activities.
