A state of emergency and curfews have been declared in two Ecuador provinces after a series of attacks that killed five police officers.
President Guillermo Lasso said the attacks by increasingly powerful drug gangs were a declaration of war.
They had threatened to retaliate after the government introduced tougher measures to curb their power inside prisons.
More than 400 people have died in gang violence in prisons since 2020.
Officials said nine separate attacks were launched in the coastal provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas on Tuesday, apparently in response to transfers of prisoners from overcrowded and violent jails.