At least 22 dead following 2 prison riots in Ecuador
At least 22 inmates died and several police were injured during riots at two of Ecuador s largest penitentiaries, the Andean nation said on Thursday, marking the second major deadly wave of prison violence this year.
Social Sharing
Thomson Reuters ·
Posted: Jul 22, 2021 9:31 PM ET | Last Updated: July 23
Security forces enter Litoral Penitentiary after a deadly riot inside in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Thursday.(Dolores Ochoa/The Associated Press)
At least 22 inmates died and several police were injured during riots at two of Ecuador s largest penitentiaries, the Andean nation said on Thursday, marking the second major deadly wave of prison violence this year.
By Reuters Staff
Slideshow ( 4 images )
QUITO (Reuters) -At least 22 inmates died and several police were injured during riots at two of Ecuador’s largest penitentiaries, the Andean nation said on Thursday, marking the second major deadly wave of prison violence this year.
Special police units deployed to the jails in southern Guayas province and Cotopaxi province, south of Quito, the capitol, to quell the violence.
In February, at least 79 inmates died at three prisons - including the centers in Guayas and Cotopaxi - in clashes between rival gangs. Guayas is home to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city.
“I want to say to the mafias that seek to threaten this country that they’re mistaken if they think this government will act with the same weakness as the previous ones,” President Guillermo Lasso said in a speech in the city of Latacunga.
At least 22 inmates have been killed and several police injured during riots at two of Ecuador’s largest jails, the Andean nation said, marking the second big deadly wave of prison violence this year.
Special police units were sent to the jails in southern Guayas province and Cotopaxi province, south of Quito, the capital, to quell the violence, the government said on Thursday.
“I want to say to the mafias that seek to threaten this country that they’re mistaken if they think this government will act with the same weakness as the previous ones,” President Guillermo Lasso said in a speech in the city of Latacunga.
Death toll from two prison riots in Ecuador climbs to 22 crime news
With the outbreak of a new wave of violence, President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in the country’s prison system.
Riots broke out in the two largest prisons in Ecuador. At least 22 prisoners were killed and several policemen were injured. The Andean country said it was the second wave of deadly prison violence this year.
The government said on Thursday that special police forces have been sent to prisons in southern Guayas province and Cotopaxi province, south of the capital Quito, to quell the violence.