At least 15 killed in latest Ecuador prison riot

South American nation’s jail company says 14 folks have been taken to hospital and work is underway to determine the lifeless.

Family members wrapped up against the cold with hoodies and scarves wait outside the prison for news of inmates inside.
Relations wait anxiously outdoors the Cotopaxi No 1 jail for information of these inside [Karen Toro/Reuters]

Not less than 15 prisoners have been killed and plenty of wounded within the newest riot to hit Ecuador’s troubled jail system.

Monday’s rioting on the Cotopaxi No 1 jail in Latacunga left “15 folks lifeless and 20 injured,” mentioned a spokesperson for SNAI, the company that manages Ecuador’s prisons.

Greater than 400 inmates have died in jail violence since February 2021, which the federal government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso has attributed to gang warfare over management of territory and drug trafficking routes.

Authorities are engaged on figuring out the our bodies, officers mentioned, whereas Oswaldo Coronel, governor of Cotopaxi province, which incorporates Latacunga, instructed reporters safety had been restored.

Coronel mentioned 14 of the injured had been taken to hospital.

Latacunga lies about 80km (50 miles) south of the Ecuadorean capital Quito.

In July, 12 prisoners have been killed at a jail in Santa Domingo, simply two months after violence on the identical establishment killed 43 in Could.

The Inter-American Fee on Human Rights has mentioned Ecuador has no complete coverage for its jail system, and inmates endure crowded and harmful situations.

Households consider the variety of those that have died in jail unrest is way larger and have been calling for the system’s reform. Collectively they've established the Committee of Households for Justice in Prisons to demand that the state be held accountable for many years of negligence.

There are about 33,500 folks in Ecuador’s prisons, that are 11.3 p.c past most capability, based on official figures.

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