Ecuador: New clashes in Guayaquil prison where 180 inmates have died in 5 months

New clashes broke out on Wednesday in a port jail Ecuadorian from Guayaquil (southwest), scene of bloody clashes that have left some 180 prisoners dead in the last five months, but were controlled with the intervention of police and military.

In the Guayas 1 prison “confrontations between pavilions are recorded,” reported the body in charge of prisons SNAI through its Twitter account.

He then pointed out that “the situation of #CPLGuayas No. 1 is controlled thanks to the intervention of elite groups” of the Police and the Armed Forces.

Without reporting whether there were victims, the SNAI pointed out that police personnel “reinforce the confiscation of firearms in the pavilions. In addition, given the events that occurred, the director of that center was removed from his position today.”

From outside, an AFP photographer heard gunshots and smelled a strong smell of tear gas.

That prison in Guayaquil, the commercial center of Ecuador, has been the main scene of violent riots, which have spread to prisons in other Ecuadorian towns and left some 320 prisoners dead in 2021.

In September, 119 inmates from Guayas 1 died in one of the worst prison massacres recorded in Latin America.

In the same prison, 62 people were later killed in another riot in November.

According to authorities, the violence comes from gangs linked to international drug trafficking that are vying for power inside and outside prisons.

In the 65 prisons in Ecuador, with a capacity for about 30,000 people, there are about 39,000 prisoners (30% overpopulation). Of the total, 15,000 are without sentence.