At least 116 people have died in a prison in Ecuador, South America, where drug gang members threw hand grenades to kill rivals, killing at least 116 people, the BBC reported on the 29th of last month. It is the worst prison violence in Ecuador’s history.
According to reports, on the 28th of last month, a violent incident occurred at a litoral prison in Guayaquil, Guayas province, western Ecuador. At least five of those killed were decapitated. Some were killed by gunshots. More than 80 people were injured. Some prisoners were reported to have detonated grenades with them. 400 police officers were dispatched, and the violence was suppressed five hours later. The next day, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in the prison. “Criminal gangs are trying to turn prisons into battlefields for power struggles,” Lasso said, according to Reuters.
The prison housed members of gangs linked to the Mexican drug cartel. According to the BBC, it is “one of the most dangerous prisons in Ecuador.” A prison officer told local radio that “corpses continue to emerge from the site of the clash between members of the gang.” Outside the prison, families wept and worried about the lives of the inmates. Photos of dead bodies left in prison are also being uploaded on social media, the Associated Press reported.
The BBC reported that Mexico’s drug cartel rivals ‘Sinaloa’ and ‘Jalicos New Generation (CJNG)’ are behind the incident. Ecuadorian gangs associated with the two cartels seem to have escalated into massive bloodshed when they tried to kill rival gang members under the direction of the cartel. Foreign media analyzed that the damage was great because the prison was overcrowded with more than 30 percent more prisoners than its capacity. Earlier, in February and July, gang clashes broke out in Ecuador’s prisons, killing a total of 106 people. Reporter Lee Eun-taek nabi@donga.com
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