Members of an Amazon tribe in Ecuador have released six people they had kidnapped to demand the return of the remains of their leader, who died of coronavirus, the government said on Saturday. Two police officers, two soldiers and two civilians were abducted by these natives on Thursday in the village of Kumay, near the Peruvian border.
The chief of their tribe, who died after being infected with Covid-19, had been buried in accordance with the health directives of the authorities, but the remains were finally exhumed and returned to the tribe. Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said on Twitter that "freed citizens" were subjected to medical examinations after being detained in the province of Pastaza, in the Amazon jungle, southeast of Ecuador.
Nearly 600 people
"The crowd holding the abductees was estimated at around 600," added the minister, adding that the negotiations to release the hostages had been led by the police chief, General Patricio Carrillo. The police said for their part, this Saturday, that a special team had conducted the operation "exhumation and identification" of the body of the tribal chief.
The latter had been transported by the authorities to Kumay. With more than 61,000 cases of contamination, including around 4,800 dead, Ecuador (17.5 million inhabitants) is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic in Latin America.
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