Riots at a prison in the Ecuadorian town of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas killed at least 43 inmates and injured several on Monday. The national police announced this during a press conference, reporting international media† About 40 prisoners who tried to escape during the uprising have been recaptured. The violence at Bellavista Prison stems from an ongoing battle between rival gangs.
The fighting started at dawn, after which images of prisoners brutally murdered were circulating on social media during the morning. Most were probably killed by stabbings. A witness said in conversation with the Ecuadorian daily El Universe heard several shots and explosions that morning.
The police and military had to step in to regain control of the prison. During the day, relatives of prisoners gathered at the complex in the hope of getting information about the fate of their loved ones.
Gang Violence
According to the national police, Monday’s violence is linked to the transfer of a prisoner from a prison in the city of Guayaquil to Santo Domingo. It is said to be a notorious gang member who in April was one of the instigators of riots in the El Turi prison in the southern city of Cuenca, in which 20 people were killed. “The presence of that person creates conflict,” said the police.
Gang violence is a persistent problem in Ecuador’s overcrowded prisons. Due to multiple incidents, center-right President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency for the entire prison system in July last year and pledged money to improve prison security.
It went wrong several times after that. In the prison in Guayaquil, for example, a total of nearly 200 people were killed in two fierce fights between rival gangs that took place last September and November.