At least one new armed confrontation between inmates in a prison in Ecuador has started 13 prisoners killed and more than 20 people injuredof which you are local police officers.
The prison uprising that resulted in deaths was the second so far this week: Monday there was another uprising in Latacunga (80km south of Quito) in which they died. 16 internsamong them, a drug lord.
But it is also the fifth episode of this kind recorded in the year.
This new revolt took place in Guayaquil’s Litoral penitentiary. And as reported by the National Service for Persons Deprived of Liberty, the conflict is not yet resolved: More than 400 agents still carry out various operations to enter all the pavilions and certify that the revolt is under control.
It has been pointed out that at least the gunshots and explosions that dominated the center stage on Wednesday night are no longer heard.
For a couple of years, Ecuador’s state prisons have become the scene of bloody clashes between rival groups of inmates; many of them were linked to Colombian and Mexican drug cartels.
Prison authorities confirmed that the clashes inside the Guayaquil prison began this Wednesday afternoon and were with knives and firearms.
So far there is 13 prisoners killed and 16 inmates woundedas well as six policemen, one with a shot to the head.
This Wednesday afternoon, social networks were the protagonists of the conflict where several videos circulated showing what was happening inside that prison unit: bullfights, shootings and explosions, among the images.
Undoubtedly, the Guayaquil prison is one of the toughest in Ecuador where a little over a year ago, in September 2021, the massacre of 125 prisoners was recorded, the largest in the history of the country.
According to the authorities, the disputes concern the control of routes and territories for the distribution of drugs at national and international level.
After hearing the news of the revolt, dozens of family members gathered around the prison, who asked their relatives for information; They also attacked the police with stones, who defended the place with pepper spray.
2021 continues to be the year with the highest number of deaths in prisons
According to data provided by the Ecuadorian prison services, 316 inmates were killed by colleagues in 2021; a higher number than that recorded so far in 2022, when 106 victims have been registered so far.
Ecuador’s prison system is designed for around 30,000 people, but there were around 35,000 inmates in the country’s 53 state prisons last month.
With AP information
DB
Source: Clarin
