Authorities Confirm Coup-Related Arrests

Ecuadorean authorities have arrested four colonels and 12 lieutenant colonels and detained hundreds of other officers for their alleged roles in the uprising that led to President Jamil Mahuad’s overthrow, officials said. Gen. Telmo Sandoval, who ascended to armed forces commander in last week’s power shuffle, confirmed the arrests of Cols. Lucio Gutierrez, Fausto Cobo, Gustavo Lalama and Jorge Brito. A Defense Ministry spokesman said that 12 lieutenant colonels also had been arrested and that 300 junior officers were being held in military barracks.