Ecuador Allowing More Guns After Killings, Mudslide

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

QUITO (Worthy News) – Ecuador, still recovering from a deadly mudslide, has authorized the carrying and use of guns by civilians due to rising insecurity and organized crime President Guillermo Lasso said in remarks monitored Sunday.

Lasso, a conservative former banker, has been fighting to tackle rising crime and violence in the streets and prisons – where hundreds of inmates have been killed – which the government blames on drug trafficking gangs.

The beleaguered president also faces impeachment over embezzlement allegations he denied – after Ecuador’s top court gave the green light for hearings.

“We have a common enemy: petty crime, drug trafficking, and organized crime,” Lasso said.

His comments came as hopes were fading for those trapped by a mudslide in Ecuador, with seven dead and more than sixty people still missing.

The mudslide from the hillside looming above the town of Alausi happened last week after months of torrential rain, just days after an earthquake on the southern coast killed seven people.

Lasso told survivors in the affected area: “You are not alone. We are with you.”

However, locals who witnessed the disaster involving “a whooshing sound, followed by a terrible silence” said they had already warned authorities of the potential of a landslide.

They cited the saturated earth, which was becoming more dangerous and unstable.

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