At least 31 prisoners were found dead (Most of them due to suffocation) on Sunday in Machala prison in the Oro region, southwest of the country. Ecuadorwhere Two events Violent incidents occurred in less than 24 hours.
A “tactical” team from the National Police even intervened Complete control of facilitiesThis was after prison staff warned of riots that occurred in protest against “the reorganization of prisoners in the new high-security prison.”
Ecuadorian prisons became operations centers for drug gangs, With more than 500 inmates killed since 2021 in clashes between groups vying for control of the lucrative business.
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Two fatal episodes on the same day
he Riots On Sunday morning it broke out around 3am. Residents of the sector in which the prison is located recorded votes Gunshots, explosions and cries for help That came from inside the detention center.
The National Service for the Comprehensive Care of Adults Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) stated in a statement that Four people died During the riots, while 33 inmates and a police officer were injured. He added that special police teams “immediately” entered the prison and regained control of it after the riots, adding that seven people had been arrested and would be tried.
According to the coalition, these clashes are due to “A “Reorganization” of some inmates in the new high-security prison. It was built by the government of President Daniel Noboa in the coastal province of Santa Elena (southwest), and is expected to open this month.
The President of Ecuador denounced that they tried to poison him with jam and chocolate
A few hours later, the prison administration announced Another 27 bodies were discovered Of the people who He died of suffocation In “An event different from what happened in the morning.”
“Operations teams and forensic personnel continue to work at the scene,” the service added in a statement after 9 p.m. The coalition confirmed in a statement, without providing details, that the 27 people who were found killed this afternoon “among them were suffocated, which led to suffocation.” Instant death due to suspensionThey said they are still working to clarify the facts.
History of violence among prisoners
At the end of September of the same year, another armed confrontation broke out in the same prison 14 deathsincluding a prison officer. At least a few days later 17 prisoners were killed In Esmeraldas prison. The bodies of the victims were found dismembered and crushed.
In 2024 The army took control From the country’s prisons by order of Noboa, who declared the country in an armed internal conflict. However, in August this year, eight of them, including Machala, were as well Handed over to the police.
The largest massacre occurred in an Ecuadorian prison 2021when more than a hundred inmates were killed in the Guayaquil prison. Prisoners even broadcast the bloody confrontations live and on social media Headless and burned bodies.
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