The Prague Post - Fifteen inmates killed in new Ecuador jail massacre

EUR -
AED 4.27842
AFN 79.494691
ALL 97.349401
AMD 446.812545
ANG 2.084672
AOA 1068.137432
ARS 1532.17935
AUD 1.784886
AWG 2.099582
AZN 1.984813
BAM 1.956408
BBD 2.35013
BDT 141.413924
BGN 1.955838
BHD 0.436
BIF 3470.67801
BMD 1.164817
BND 1.495765
BOB 8.042498
BRL 6.327057
BSD 1.163962
BTN 101.918656
BWP 15.66073
BYN 3.842894
BYR 22830.409242
BZD 2.338026
CAD 1.602031
CDF 3366.320968
CHF 0.9415
CLF 0.028776
CLP 1128.882661
CNY 8.365137
CNH 8.374014
COP 4710.519131
CRC 589.78319
CUC 1.164817
CUP 30.867645
CVE 110.29926
CZK 24.442055
DJF 207.0117
DKK 7.468228
DOP 71.082078
DZD 150.227409
EGP 56.111766
ERN 17.472252
ETB 161.509866
FJD 2.623522
FKP 0.866489
GBP 0.865906
GEL 3.149503
GGP 0.866489
GHS 12.279814
GIP 0.866489
GMD 84.453703
GNF 10093.13498
GTQ 8.930774
GYD 243.516683
HKD 9.143754
HNL 30.477466
HRK 7.538741
HTG 152.297304
HUF 395.54894
IDR 18935.378351
ILS 3.996131
IMP 0.866489
INR 102.186757
IQD 1524.773603
IRR 49067.908029
ISK 143.074897
JEP 0.866489
JMD 186.357884
JOD 0.825901
JPY 171.994565
KES 150.498758
KGS 101.863677
KHR 4662.408141
KMF 491.727858
KPW 1048.34466
KRW 1617.663071
KWD 0.355887
KYD 0.970014
KZT 629.005372
LAK 25182.821914
LBP 104288.692604
LKR 350.05873
LRD 233.374491
LSL 20.631208
LTL 3.439402
LVL 0.704587
LYD 6.31096
MAD 10.540574
MDL 19.541902
MGA 5136.595453
MKD 61.541171
MMK 2445.247438
MNT 4178.468115
MOP 9.410763
MRU 46.428421
MUR 52.894772
MVR 17.942534
MWK 2018.335569
MXN 21.642736
MYR 4.939263
MZN 74.502122
NAD 20.631208
NGN 1784.83757
NIO 42.833304
NOK 11.97735
NPR 163.06965
NZD 1.954063
OMR 0.444652
PAB 1.163962
PEN 4.11978
PGK 4.909525
PHP 66.10379
PKR 330.266983
PLN 4.248949
PYG 8717.707765
QAR 4.254221
RON 5.073131
RSD 117.596454
RUB 92.486284
RWF 1683.64463
SAR 4.371747
SBD 9.571376
SCR 16.475752
SDG 699.476769
SEK 11.157552
SGD 1.497377
SHP 0.915363
SLE 26.911539
SLL 24425.630445
SOS 665.200904
SRD 43.42325
STD 24109.355964
STN 24.507612
SVC 10.184163
SYP 15144.895085
SZL 20.623406
THB 37.511348
TJS 10.871223
TMT 4.088507
TND 3.41346
TOP 2.728122
TRY 47.518745
TTD 7.90059
TWD 34.836297
TZS 2894.570133
UAH 48.148355
UGX 4153.290033
USD 1.164817
UYU 46.704507
UZS 14658.553022
VES 149.967542
VND 30547.32053
VUV 138.055319
WST 3.095243
XAF 656.160807
XAG 0.030342
XAU 0.000343
XCD 3.147976
XCG 2.097752
XDR 0.815486
XOF 656.160807
XPF 119.331742
YER 280.080622
ZAR 20.683175
ZMK 10484.753138
ZMW 26.974378
ZWL 375.070534
  • BCC

    -1.1000

    82.09

    -1.34%

  • SCS

    -0.1200

    15.88

    -0.76%

  • AZN

    -0.5050

    73.55

    -0.69%

  • NGG

    -1.0700

    71.01

    -1.51%

  • CMSC

    0.0900

    23.05

    +0.39%

  • BP

    -0.0500

    34.14

    -0.15%

  • RIO

    1.0900

    61.86

    +1.76%

  • CMSD

    0.0600

    23.58

    +0.25%

  • RBGPF

    1.2400

    73.08

    +1.7%

  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • GSK

    0.2200

    37.8

    +0.58%

  • JRI

    0.0250

    13.435

    +0.19%

  • BTI

    0.5500

    57.24

    +0.96%

  • BCE

    0.5700

    24.35

    +2.34%

  • RELX

    -1.0566

    48

    -2.2%

  • VOD

    0.1000

    11.36

    +0.88%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0200

    14.42

    -0.14%

Fifteen inmates killed in new Ecuador jail massacre
Fifteen inmates killed in new Ecuador jail massacre / Photo: Enrique Ortiz - AFP

Fifteen inmates killed in new Ecuador jail massacre

At least 15 inmates were killed and 14 injured in clashes Tuesday at a prison in the Ecuadoran port of Guayaquil, the latest in a series of massacres blamed on a war between drug cartels.

Text size:

Once seen as a beacon of stability in South America, Ecuador has become one of the world's most violent nations 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 burnt.

The latest bloodshed took place in Litoral penitentiary, the country's biggest, where 119 inmates were killed in September 2021 in Ecuador's worst prison massacre.

"This morning, in a pavilion of the Litoral penitentiary, serious incidents were reported between inmates, resulting in a preliminary toll of 15 dead and 14 wounded," the prison service said.

AFP drone images of the prison yard showed inmates in orange prison garb placing a body on the ground next to a dozen corpses wrapped in blankets.

In another part of the prison, dozens of prisoners could be seen sitting in rows, guarded by security force members.

The prison service said that a "significant contingent" of troops and police had been deployed to restore order at the prison, which was now under the "full control" of the authorities.

The violence in Ecuador's prisons has spilled over onto the streets.

The Andean country registered a record 47 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, up from a rate of six per 100,000 in 2018.

In January, the violence reached a new peak following the jailbreak of a powerful narco boss, 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 scores of prison guards hostage and set off explosions prompting President Daniel Noboa to declare war on organized crime and deploy the army to combat the gangs.

- Prison officials targeted -

Tuesday's massacre is the first at a prison since then.

But tit-for-tat gang attacks left at least 17 dead near Guayaquil last month and prison officials continue to be targeted.

Five penitentiary staff were shot dead in the space of a month between late August and late September.

The victims included the director of Litoral, who was shot dead after her car was ambushed while traveling near Guayaquil and the head of another prison in the Amazonian province of Sucumbios, who too was shot dead while traveling by car.

Noboa claims his offensive against organized crime is nonetheless yielding results.

Between January and September, 4,236 murders were reported, down from 5,112 for the same period in 2023.

Z.Marek--TPP