Ecuador’s government announced on Monday that it has retaken control of a jail in Cuenca where 20 prisoners were killed in a violent clash over the weekend.
According to the administration, the violence at El Turi jail occurred in the maximum security cell block as a consequence of conflicts amongst members of the same gang for control of the wing.
It was the latest episode of violence in Ecuadorean prisons, which the administration normally blames on drug-trafficking gang fights. Last year, 316 people died as a result of jail violence.
According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the system is plagued by state neglect, a lack of a cohesive programme, and bad inmate circumstances. The country’s jails are around 15 percent overcrowded, with 35,000 inmates incarcerated.
‘For the time being, the El Turi centre is under control,’ Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo told the local radio. ‘However, this is relative because the institution remains fundamentally weak.’
‘I don’t believe this is only about bad blood and internal strife; there are significant economic interests at stake.’
According to the minister, six persons were found ‘suspended’ in cells, with one showing signs of possible poisoning.
Carrillo stated that five bodies had been mutilated and that the remains would be returned to families in the following hours.
He stated that 1,000 security forces were deployed to reclaim control of the prison, and that inmates will now be relocated to other blocks within the facility to try to prevent similar gang disputes.
Guillermo Lasso, a conservative president, has promised to minimise jail violence through gang pacification, early prisoner release, and political and social changes.
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