New prison riots in Ecuador have caused 58 deaths.
Patrick Pleul, image alliance via Getty Images
- Fighting between prisoners began on Friday, resulting in the deaths of 58 prisoners.
- In the conflict, 12 prisoners were injured.
- Nearly 300 prisoners were killed in Ecuador’s criminal detention system this year.
The Ecuadorian police said on Saturday that the fierce conflict has killed 58 prisoners in Ecuadorian prisons. This is the latest unrest in Guayaquil prison, which was the scene of the September riots and killed 119 prisoners.
General Tanya Varela, the police commander, told reporters that “as of now,” the battle between prisoners that began on Friday has resulted in “58 prisoners killed and 12 injured”.
The governor of Guayas Province, Pablo Arosemena, added that police interventions trying to re-establish order “save lives”. The capital of Guayas Province is Guayaquil.
Nearly 300 prisoners were killed in Ecuador’s criminal detention system this year, and thousands of prisoners associated with drug gangs have gained a foothold in the violent conflict that often turns into riots.
The September turmoil was one of the worst prison massacres in Latin American history, and the recent deadly violence in Guayaquil once again confirmed the broken state of Ecuador’s prisons.
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Hostile drug criminal gangs have been fighting bloody battles in Guayas Prison No. 1, which is designed for 5,300 prisoners but has a capacity of 8,500 to 60% more.
But even after the suppression of the tragedy that killed 119 people on September 28, the riots continued, and at least 15 prisoners died before the deadly violence broke out on Friday.
Two weeks after the September disaster, the country’s President Guillermo Lasso declared a 60-day state of emergency to quell drug-related unrest in Ecuador.
He also appointed a new secretary of defense, partly to resolve the large-scale prison crisis.
In recent months, violence in Ecuador has increased dramatically, and the country’s economy has been in trouble. According to the government, between January and October of this year, the country registered nearly 1,900 homicides, compared with approximately 1,400 in 2020.
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