Clash Between Inmates At Ecuador Prison Leaves 15 People Dead, 20 People Injured

At least 15 people died and 20 were injured in a clash between inmates inside the Latacunga prison located 50 miles south of the capital of Quito in central Ecuador on Monday, Oct 3.

Authorities have confirmed that the inmates were armed with guns and knives. The fighting has been linked to national and international drug trafficking groups. As the groups fight for power and drug distribution rights the Andean nation’s prisons have been turned into sites for continuous massacres, reports said.

Visuals containing gunfire and the sounds of inmates screaming were posted on social media.

According to media reports alleged drug gang boss, Leandro Norero who was arrested in May on money-laundering charges was among those who were killed in the clash at Latacunga's Cotopaxi jail. The prison burst into violence shortly after a census of prisoners.

The national penitentiary service of Ecuador has confirmed the death toll in the Latacunga prison. According to the authority, agents are still searching for bodies in the prison’s pavilions.

The disturbing circumstance has been going on for some time now. Ecuador has had a series of deadly clashes between drug gangs in prisons. Over 400 have died in these clashes since 2020. According to the penitentiary service, there have been around 90 deaths this year. About 316 inmates were killed inside Ecuador’s prisons last year alone. September of 2021 saw the worst massacre so far in the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil in which 125 prisoners were killed.

In April, a state of emergency has been declared by Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso in three provinces to curb gang-related violence linked to drug trafficking. A similar emergency was also declared last year. A record 190 tonnes of drugs were seized by Ecuador's police last year.

Ecuador’s prison system is designed for about 30,000 people, but some 35,000 inmates were held in 53 state prisons as of last month. The wars between Ecuadorean gangs fighting for control of cocaine networks are a matter of serious concern for the weak prison system.