The policemen were detained late Tuesday, officials said, and were awaiting formal charges related to the insurrection in which 10 people were killed and 274 were injured.

Correa said Wednesday the state must seek punishment against the policemen "with all the firmness of the law," and told foreign reporters there would be "no forgiving or forgetting" of their actions.

He also warned, however, that "the coup is not over" and said "it will be very difficult in the future to guarantee the situation, maybe not on the same scale, won't happen again."

Earlier Correa spoke with US President Barack Obama, who reiterated US support for Ecuador's government. Obama "underscored the importance of resolving any tensions in Ecuador in the context of the country's democratic and constitutional order," the White House said in a statement.

Hundreds of police officers on Thursday rose up in a revolt over a law that reduced their bonus pay and cornered Correa in a police hospital for 12 hours, after his attempt to personally confronted rebellious officers in Quito backfired.

AFP