At least 15 prisoners died and 14 others were injured Tuesday in new clashes between rival gangs in a prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the national prison authority (SNAI) announced.
“This morning, in one of the wings of the Littoral Penitentiary, serious incidents broke out between people deprived of their liberty (PPL), leading to a preliminary toll of 15 dead and 14 injured,” said the SNAI in a press release.
AFP
In aerial images taken by AFP above the prison, we see four inmates carrying a body into the courtyard of the establishment and placing it alongside around ten other remains, wrapped in blankets and lined up on the ground.
In another wing of the prison, prisoners are grouped together and seated on the floor, watched by members of the security forces. Outside, several dozen police officers are in tight formation.
AFP
The SNAI claimed that the Littoral Penitentiary, the largest prison complex in Ecuador with 6,800 inmates, was “under the absolute control” of the security forces, which include military officers in charge of the prisons.
AFP
“A large contingent of soldiers and police has been deployed to ensure security and avoid further incidents,” he said.
Ecuadorian prisons have been the scene of numerous clashes between inmates who are members of rival drug trafficking gangs, which have left 460 dead since 2021, in massacres often of extreme cruelty, with bodies burned or decapitated.
World
