At least 12 inmates were killed in an Ecuadorian jail after clashes broke out between gangs, as per media reports citing officials. The latest deadly violence amid a spate of incidents occurred on Friday (April 14), said the prosecutor’s office on Saturday, in the city of Guayaquil’s prison known as La Penitenciaría or Litoral Penitentiary, which is said to be the most dangerous one in the country.
“An investigation has been opened to identify those responsible for the death of 12 inmates from the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil,” said the prosecutor’s office, on Twitter, a day after the clashes broke out.
Similarly, the SNAI prison agency told reporters that it was “through the use of technology, it was established (that) 12 people died,” adding that the prosecutor’s office and the police are in the prison for the identification of the bodies, reported Reuters.
The recent spate of violence in the prison
This comes after six detainees were found hanged, on Wednesday, in the same prison, in a city which has reportedly been plagued by violence linked to drug trafficking. The next day, at least three prison guards were killed outside the penitentiary complex. This was followed by Friday where in a separate incident, at least three prisoners were injured in gun battles at the Litoral Penitentiary.
Ecuador plagued by prison riots
The South American country has been witnessing a rise in such incidents which have led to the deaths of hundreds of inmates, while the government has attributed to clashes between drug gangs fighting for territory and control. However, a United Nations delegation, last year, found that the violence in Ecuadorian prisons is due to years of neglect by the state of the penitentiary system, reported Reuters.
Since early 2021, more than 400 prisoners have been killed, most of which were found dismembered and burned while at least eight massacres have been recorded in these prisons. This comes as the country’s port city has also become the epicentre of drug trafficking in Ecuador which is also a transit point for cocaine moving to Europe and the United States.
Meanwhile, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso, who is currently facing impeachment hearings on corruption charges, has reportedly failed to address the growing violence in the country. Earlier this month, the government amended a decree which would allow citizens to use firearms and pepper spray, in light of the growing violence.
(With inputs from agencies)
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