Date published: 12/11/2024 – 18:14Changed: 12/11/2024 – 18:12

2 minutes

Once seen as a symbol of stability in South America, Ecuador has become one of the world’s most violent countries and a major drug trafficking hub in recent years.

Much of the violence has taken place in prisons, where more than 460 inmates have been killed since February 2021, often in gruesome fashion, with their bodies dismembered and burned.

The latest bloodshed took place at Litoral prison, the country’s largest prison, where 119 inmates were killed in September 2021 in Ecuador’s worst prison massacre.

“This morning, serious incidents were reported among inmates in a pavilion of Litoral Prison, resulting in 15 deaths and 14 injuries,” the prison service said.

AFP drone footage of the prison yard showed inmates dressed in orange prison uniforms placing a body on the ground next to a dozen bodies wrapped in blankets.

In another part of the prison, dozens of prisoners were seen sitting in rows, protected by security forces.

The prison service said a “significant contingent” of soldiers and police had been deployed to maintain order at the prison, which is now under the “full control” of the authorities.

Violence in Ecuadorian prisons has spread to the streets.

The Andean country reached a record of 47 murders per 100,000 people in 2023, up from 6 per 100,000 people in 2018.

Violence reached a new peak in January following the prison escape of powerful narcotics kingpin Jose Adolfo Macias.

In the most dramatic incident, gunmen stormed the studios of a television station in Guayaquil and held a presenter at gunpoint live on air.

Gang members also took numerous prison guards hostage and set off explosions, leading President Daniel Noboa to declare war on organized crime and deploy the military to fight the gangs.

Prison officers were targeted

Tuesday’s massacre was the first massacre in a prison since then.

But at least 17 people were killed in tit-for-tat gang attacks near Guayaquil last month, and prison officials continue to be targeted.

In the one month between late August and late September, five prison staff were shot dead.

The victims included the warden of Litoral, who was shot to death after his car was ambushed while traveling near Guayaquil, and the warden of another prison in the Amazonian state of Sucumbios, who was also shot and killed while traveling by car.

Noboa claims that his offensive against organized crime has nevertheless yielded results.

Between January and September, the number of homicides dropped to 4,236, compared to 5,112 in the same period in 2023.

© 2024 AFP