Hello and welcome to the details of Ecuador prison riot leaves three dead, six injured and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Aerial view showing the marks left by mattresses and other objects set on fire on a roof of the Guayas 4 block, in the Regional 8 prison complex in Guayaquil, Ecuador, taken on March 28, 2024, a day after an "internal revolt.". — AFP pic
QUITO, March 29 — At least three prisoners were killed and six injured in an overnight revolt in an Ecuador prison, from which one of the country’s most feared gang leaders escaped in January, authorities said Thursday.
It marked the latest prison violence in Guayaquil — the port city that has become a dangerous hub for cocaine exports to neighbouring countries.
The country’s prison agency, SNAI, said in a statement that the three inmates died when a “clash” broke out with security forces Wednesday but that the facility “is 100 percent under control.”
Ecuador President Daniel Noboa tweeted Wednesday that security forces had prevented a “possible escalation.”
Advertisement
The riot was the first since Noboa took office in November.
AFP reporters heard gunshots and saw fires spreading inside the prison, one of four that make up a vast penitentiary complex in Guayaquil.
On Thursday, some 200 relatives of inmates burned tires to block traffic near the jail, protesting the alleged mistreatment of prisoners by the military — which has been cited as a cause for the riot.
Advertisement
In January, the regional prison came into the spotlight after Adolfo “Fito” Macias, leader of one of the country’s most powerful gangs, escaped from the jail. He remains on the loose.
After the escape, Noboa imposed a state of emergency — which has been extended until April — and declared war on the gangs that have sunk their claws into the country.
The narcos retaliated in a wave of violence that saw dozens of kidnappings and left around 20 people dead.
The government has deployed soldiers to retake control of the country’s prisons, which had become the nerve centre — and battleground — for gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels.
Since 2021, more than 460 inmates have been killed in gang wars behind bars.
Once considered a bastion of peace in Latin America, Ecuador has been plunged into crisis by the rapid spread of transnational cartels that use its ports to ship drugs to the United States and Europe.
Deputy security minister Lyonel Calderon said a recent uptick in violence was part of an effort to “destabilize” the country ahead of a referendum on April 21 on whether to take tougher measures against crime.
The measures include the ability to deploy the military to back up police outside of a state of emergency, allowing the extradition of Ecuadorans involved in organized crime, and increasing sentences for terrorism and drug trafficking. — AFP
These were the details of the news Ecuador prison riot leaves three dead, six injured for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
