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The umpteenth confrontation between rival gangs disputing control of drug trafficking caused the death of several detainees in a prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, between Friday, April 14, and Saturday, April 15. This is a particularly bloody week: in this same prison, six detainees were found hanged last Wednesday, and the day after, three guards were murdered during their lunch break.
With our correspondent in Quito, Eric Samson
The so-called Prison del Litoral, in the city of Quito, is considered the most violent prison in Ecuador. After the murder of 13 inmates in October 2022, and another 126 last September, the Ecuadorian government made the decision to transfer the leaders of the criminal gangs to other prisons to lower the tension, without much success.
On the night from Friday to Saturday, the clashes began between the inmates of pavilions 5, 8 and 9, each of them controlled by a gang in dispute for control of drug trafficking in the prison and abroad. Apparently, criminals do not find it difficult to procure weapons, which motivated President Guillermo Lasso to launch a televised message to the Ecuadorian police officers:
“Dear police officers, I invite you to act firmly, the weapon provided is to be used against criminals. And personally I will defend you against those acts of injustice of wanting to take you to jails and not the criminals.”
On Saturday, the police and the military managed to retake control of the prison, which houses some 6,800 inmates belonging to 13 organized crime groups registered in the country. While the murder rate doubled between 2011 and 2022, President Lasso approved the carrying of weapons. For its part, the armed forces propose that, from now on, criminals be treated as terrorists.
Since February 2021, eight massacres have been registered in these prisons. Over 400 inmates were killed during these waves of violence.
