Honduras

Ecuador: Prison Riot Kills At Least 12 People

MAY 10 2022·Updated DEC 14 2022

Story

Image credit: API [via Metro Ecuador]

The Facts

Ecuador's Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo announced on Tues. that investigation teams have found human remains belonging to 12 dismembered bodies as violence erupted on Mon. at Bellavista prison in Santo Domingo, 43 miles away from the capital city of Quito.
Al Jazeera
The death toll was corrected from the previously reported 13 inmate deaths. However, officials expect more bodies to be recovered in the cell-by-cell search.
BBC News
Clashes are said to have started as "R7" gang members attacked detainees who were organizing a rival group. 15 inmates have been transferred to other detention centers for protection.
BBC News
Earlier in May, more than 40 people were killed in another violent conflict between gangs at the Bellavista prison.
ITN
From Dec. 2020 to May 2022, 390 people died due to violence in Ecuadorian prisons, which has raised alarms among international human rights groups.
OHCHR
Ecuador has an incarcerated population of 33.9K – 12.5% beyond its capacity – and its prison system has been ravaged by deadly conflicts between rival gangs.
Al Jazeera

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The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

Ecuadorian authorities must expand their efforts to fix the national prison system's structural issues. The prisons have been out of control and overcrowded for more than a decade, forcing the government to seek more effective long-term solutions.

nytimes

Pro-establishment narrative

Deadly violence in Ecuador's prisons is connected to conflict between gangs associated with Mexican cartels. Pres. Guillermo Lasso has been trying to counter the surge of violence, but his hands have been tied by Constitutional Court rulings that have limited his emergency powers to act in this crisis.