Ecuador to pardon up to 2,000 inmates after deadly prison riot

GUAYAQUIL (Ecuador), Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — As many as 2,000 prisoners will be pardoned in Ecuador, the head of the country’s prison authority has announced, as the South American nation seeks to reduce overcrowding in its detention centres after a deadly riot this week.

Bolivar Garzon, director of the SNAI prison authority, said that the government would prioritise elderly and female prisoners, as well as those with disabilities and terminal illnesses, for release.

At least 118 inmates were killed and another 79 injured in the riot on Tuesday at the Penitenciaria del Litoral in the southern city of Guayaquil, the deadliest instance of prison violence in Ecuador’s history.

The country’s prisons are currently home to some 39,000 inmates, said Garzon.

He also said Tuesday’s riot was sparked by “a battle for control by organised crime groups”.

Ecuador has seen several outbreaks of violence in its prisons in recent months, as officials say gangs working with transnational criminal groups are battling over drug trafficking routes.

Seventy-nine prisoners died in February when simultaneous riots broke out in three prisons, while in July, 27 prisoners were killed at the Litoral facility. In September, a penitentiary was attacked by drones, but no fatalities were reported.

Ecuador has sent 3,600 police and military reinforcements to prisons across the country to maintain order, Interior Minister Alexandra Vela told reporters on Friday.

She added that forensic units had identified 41 of the victims from Tuesday’s bout of violence, and had delivered the bodies of 21 of the victims to their families.

Dozens of inmates’ relatives have gathered outside a Guayaquil morgue seeking information about their loved ones. Authorities said at least six victims were decapitated.

On Wednesday, Ecuador’s president Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in the prison system, which gave the government powers that include deploying police and soldiers inside detention centres.

“It is regrettable that the prisons are being turned into territories for power disputes by criminal gangs,” Lasso said, adding that he would act with “absolute firmness” to regain control of the Litoral prison and prevent the violence from spreading to other facilities.

Lasso said that care points had been set up for relatives of the inmates, where they could receive food and psychological support.

He added that a programme to address the state of the country’s prisons would be accelerated, starting with investments in infrastructure and technology in the Litoral prison. — NNN-AGENCIES