ECUADOR, Oct 1 – A deadly gang war behind the prison walls of Litoral Prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador erupted this week, leaving 116 inmates dead and another 80 injured in one of the worst prison bloodbaths in the country’s history.
According to reports released by the Ecuadorian police, it took authorities five hours to regain control over parts of the prison and when all the fighting was halted, they discovered six people had their bodies decapitated amongst the casualties.
Initially, authorities had believed that they would be around 30 to 40 deaths within the first hour, but 24 hours after the quelling riot, authorities found carcases in other prison wings, including those in the ventilation ducts. The death toll was then revised to well over a hundred as the police are trying to identify the bodies.
The bloodbath that occurred has surpassed another prison outbreak earlier this year, which saw 79 prisoners lost their lives in three separate Ecuadorian prisons during coordinated riots on February 23.
The conflict is believed to connected to the December 2020 death of Jorge Luis Zambarano who was gunned down by rival gang members in a shopping mall in his home city of Manta six months after being released from a prison in Ecuador. Zambrano is allegedly the head of the country’s largest prison gang, Los Choneros, while he served 8 years in the prison.
As foretold by police officials, the death of Zambrano might have caused inner conflict within the gang’s leadership. The void that was left sparked violence amongst members and other gangs to fill in of what was left. It is noteworthy that prison gangs are notorious to be part the country’s lucrative cocaine smuggling trade, and officials say they have connections to Mexican drug cartels. In this case, it erupted violently between the “Los Lobos” and “Los Choneros” gangs.
On Wednesday, President Guillermo Lasso decreed a state of emergency Wednesday, which gave the government power to deploy police and soldiers inside prisons. This decision was made with aim of regaining control of the chaos and speeding up investment plans to strengthen the country’s prison.
“It is regrettable that the prisons are being turned into territories for power disputes by criminal gangs,” Lasso said, adding that he would act with “absolute firmness” to regain control of the Litoral prison and prevent the violence from spreading to other penitentiaries.
As of current, families of the deceased have flocked to the location in hopes of identifying the bodies of their loved ones and demand accountability from officials responsible for the inmates’ safety.
-VICENEWS, APnews-
