Ecuador unrest: At least 10 dead and more taken hostage by cartels as President orders brutal crackdown in narco 'civil war'

Long a peaceful haven sandwiched between top cocaine exporters Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has seen violence explode in recent years as rival gangs with links to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control.

On Tuesday, gangsters declared war following the prison escape Sunday of one of Ecuador’s most powerful narco bosses.

After the escape of Jose Adolfo Macias, aka ‘Fito’ – leader of Ecuador’s biggest gang Los Choneros – Noboa on Monday declared a countrywide state of emergency and nightly…