Daniel Noboa

A solid majority of Ecuadoran voters on Sunday approved the extradition to the United States of organized crime bosses in a referendum on measures against drug trafficking and gangs, the electoral council said.

Police in violence-plagued Ecuador arrested 68 people Sunday who had attempted to take over a hospital in the country's southwest in the midst of a "war" between drug gangs and the security forces.

Ecuador's armed forces were engaged in a brutal standoff with organized crime Thursday, deploying more than 22,400 soldiers to put down a campaign of terror waged by gangs that has claimed 16 lives.

In a harrowing turn of events, Ecuador finds itself in the throes of a declared "state of war" with drug cartels, marking the third consecutive day of a brutal campaign initiated by the criminal organizations. This violent response comes in the wake of a government crackdown on their illegal activities, as reported by AFP.

Walking fast, with their eyes alert and voices low, a few Ecuadorans flitted about fearfully Wednesday on city streets all but deserted amid an escalating conflict between the armed forces and violent drug gangs.

Ecuador's president gave orders Tuesday to "neutralize" criminal gangs after gunmen opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions on a second day of terror in the violence-riddled country.

At least 10 people have been killed in a series of attacks blamed on gangs as the country exploded in what President Daniel Noboa called an "internal armed conflict".