68 Convicts In Ecuador Died In Prison Clashes

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - At least 68 inmates were killed and dozens more injured overnight during violence at the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison in Ecuador, the government said on Saturday, November 13.

The prison, located in the southern city of Guayaquil, is the same facility where 119 prisoners died in September in the worst violence the country has ever experienced. The government saw that the violence was caused by competition between groups of drug smugglers for control of the prison. Dozens of people gathered outside the prison to wait for news from their loved ones, whom they said had not been heard from since Friday, November 12 afternoon. It's a disgrace, people kill each other and what's sad is that they don't have a conscience," said Christina Monserrat, 58, the older sister of a prisoner at the prison. still alive, my heart says so," he said.

President Guillermo Lasso, Monserrat said, should do more to help the poor. Ecuador's prison system has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for overcrowding, poor hygiene and organized crime. Lasso in September declared a 60-day state of emergency over the system. prisons. Under the state of emergency, the government can release funds and allow the military to be deployed to help control prisons. On Saturday, President Lasso urged the constitutional court to allow the military to enter the prison area rather than only assisting with external security.