13 inmates found dead in Ecuadorian prison plagued by violence
By Ana María Cañizares, Michael Rios, CNN
(CNN) — At least 13 inmates were found dead Sunday at a southern Ecuadorian prison ravaged by violence in recent months, the country’s prison service SNAI announced on Monday.
The bodies were found after an explosive device detonated outside the Machala prison, SNAI said, but it’s unclear if the blast is directly linked to the inmates’ deaths.
SNAI added that authorities are conducting autopsies and “routine procedures” to determine how they died.
“The police arrived at the scene at that time and simultaneously carried out an immediate intervention and review at the center,” SNAI said in a statement to journalists after several inquiries.
Sunday’s events were the latest acts of violence reported at the prison this year.
Last month, two clashes between rival gangs left at least 31 inmates dead, including 27 who were killed by “asphyxiation,” officials said at the time.
In the first attack, the criminal group Los Lobos was targeted by a breakaway gang known as Sao-Box in the early morning, Interior Minister John Reimberg said in an interview with Radio Centro Ecuador a day after the deaths. At least four inmates in the Machala Detention Center were reported killed and roughly 36 were wounded. Two officers suffered non-serious injuries as authorities stepped in to regain control of the situation.
Later in the day, Los Lobos carried out a “reprisal” attack against Sao-Box, killing 27 of its members by asphyxiating them inside several cells that both groups shared, according to Reimberg. Authorities did not immediately clarify what they meant by “asphyxiation” or say whether the inmates were hanged.
In September, another violent incident at the prison left at least 14 inmates dead, along with a prison guard who had been shot and killed inside one of the cells.
More than 600 inmates have been killed within Ecuador’s violent prisons since 2020, according to a recent report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
On November 26, the IACHR reiterated its concern about persistent prison violence and urged the state to adopt immediate measures to guarantee the right to life and the integrity of inmates.
The interior ministry has acknowledged that the prisons are no longer adequate for the current level of crime.
The wave of prison violence is happening despite the deployment of military and police forces in several penitentiaries. It’s part of an ongoing state of internal armed conflict that the government of Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa declared in January 2024 to try to quell criminal violence nationwide.
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