Violent incidents that broke out in two prisons in Ecuador the day before yesterday Wednesday cost the lives of at least 21 inmates, the prosecutor’s office announced yesterday Thursday.
«13 bodies have been identified after the clashesThe day before yesterday at the Latakunga detention center in Kotopaxi province, the prosecutor clarified via Twitter.
In the episodes in another prison, in the province of Waia (southwest), “eight prisoners” lost their lives, the same source added.
The Special Forces of the police “regained control” of the two prisons, the prison service announced (SNAI) a little earlier.
SNAI said earlier yesterday that 18 people had been killed and about 50 injured, including police officers.
The police, with the support of the army, also prevented the “escape of 31 detainees” from Latakunga, she said in a press release she published.
At least three police officers were injured in a jail in the state of Waia. In Kotopaxi, 35 inmates and six police officers were injured.
These two prisons are among those where bloody incidents broke out in February. In clashes between gangs at stake in control of the largest penitentiary establishments in the Andean country had killed 79 prisoners in one day.
The February incidents were marked by horrific scenes, with corpses beheaded, and revealed the power of drug-trafficking gangs in prisons, where the problem of overcrowding is acute.
Ecuador has about 60 prisons with a nominal capacity of 29,000 places. But the surplus inmates are close to 30%, as the total number of inmates is 38,000 and is guarded by about 1,500 guards, while, according to experts, at least 4,000 would be required to exercise effective control.
According to the Ombudsman, an independent public authority responsible for the protection of human rights, in 2020, “103 murders” were committed in the prisons of Ecuador.
To address the recurring problem of violent prison incidents, former President Lenin Moreno, who was replaced by Guillermo Lasso in May, has repeatedly declared a state of emergency, especially in February for three months.
After the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the Ecuadorian authorities resorted to alternative sentences for less serious criminal offenses and misdemeanors in order to reduce the number of inmates; .
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