Riots in Ecuadorian prisons killed 68 people and injured 25 others, and gangs set fire to the ground and bodies spread across the ground with 900 police officers

Source: Global Times

On the 13th local time, another riot broke out in the coastal prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador's second largest city, which has caused 68 deaths and 25 injuries. It took the local police almost a day to quell the bloody clashes caused by gang clashes in prison. Less than two months ago, the worst prison riots in Ecuador's history broke out at the coastal prison, killing hundreds of people. The country's recent frequent prison riots are a microcosm of the prison unrest in Latin America.

The prisoners tried to blow up the wall with explosives

According to the ABC reported on the 14th, the prison riot in Ecuador occurred in the "coastal prison" in the southern city of Guayaquil: from the evening of the 12th to the early morning of the next day, lasting nearly 8 hours. The local government said the riots were the latest merger of prison gangs linked to international drug cartels. Videos circulating on social media showed bodies strewn on the prison floor, some of which had been burned. At present, the clean-up of the accident site is still advancing, and the number of casualties may further rise.

Pablo Alor Semena, governor of the guayas province where Guayaquil is located, said at a briefing on the 13th that the riot was triggered by a power vacuum after the release of a gang leader. "After the prison leader was released a few days ago, building 2 of his prison was 'leaderless,'" he said. Different gangs in other cell areas wanted to suppress them and tried to break in and carry out the massacre. He said the inmates tried to blow up a wall inside the prison to get into Building 2 to carry out the massacre. In the end, the Ecuadorian government sent 900 police officers to quell the unrest.

Drones smuggle weapons and ammunition

The "Coastal Prison" is the most crowded prison in Ecuador, designed to accommodate 5,000 people, but in fact it houses more than 9,000 prisoners. According to the Washington Post reported on the 14th, on September 28, the most serious prison riot in the history of the country occurred here, when prisoners attacked each other with guns, grenades and knives, at least 116 people died, of which 5 were beheaded and 80 others were injured. Violent clashes also broke out in prisons elsewhere in the country in February and July, killing 79 and 22 people, respectively. So far this year, more than 300 people have died in prison clashes in Ecuador.

In addition to overcrowding, Ecuadorian prison inmates are often "well-armed". CNN said on the 14th that in the prison of Guayaquil, prisoners have automatic weapons and even grenades. Prison guards told CNN they feared being overwhelmed by a growing number of criminals with weapons ranging from machetes to explosives. Police said the weapons and ammunition were smuggled to prisoners through vehicles carrying prison supplies, sometimes even by drones.

After the riots, the families of the prisoners gathered outside the "coastal prison" to inquire about their loved ones. "Enough is enough! When will they stop killing? This is a prison, not a slaughterhouse. Francesca, who was waiting outside the prison, said his brother had been in the prison for eight months, and it was better to live than to die. Some have even called on the Ecuadorian military to take control of the prisons. But Ecuador's Supreme Court banned troops from entering the prison, so when there was a riot in the "coastal prison", the security forces arrived but could only stay outside the prison as a backup.

Prison riots are frequent in Central and South America

Recently, there have been a number of riots in prisons in Latin American countries. In May, a riot in a prison in Brazil killed 40 people. In June, riots broke out in a prison near paraguay's capital, killing 10 prisoners and injuring 10 others. Gang rivalries in Latin American prisons are an important cause of frequent prison riots and murders. According to a survey by Brazil's Ministry of Justice, the inmates in prisons large and small across the country are mainly from 25 gangs. Less than a week after New Year's Day 2017, riots broke out in several brazilian prisons, killing more than 100 inmates and escaping hundreds.

Prison overcrowding and overcrowding are also one of the reasons for the riots in Latin American prisons. According to the BBC, Latin America has some of the most crowded prisons in the world. A dozen prisoners were crammed into cramped cells. Brazilian prisons are notoriously overcrowded. Some data show that the overcrowding rate of prisons in the country is as high as 200% or more.