Ecuador prison riots death toll rise to 27
3 years, 5 months ago

Ecuador prison riots death toll rise to 27

Al Jazeera  

President Guillermo Lasso issues order ‘to mobilise all necessary human and economic resources’ to re-establish order after deadly incident. President Guillermo Lasso had issued the order “to mobilise all necessary human and economic resources to re-establish order” in Ecuador’s prisons after violence erupted on Wednesday at jails in Guayas, in southwestern Ecuador, and Cotopaxi, in the centre of the country. The SNAI prisons management body posted on social media on Friday that “19 inmates are reported dead, one of them by hanging” in the Cotopaxi prison. The two jails previously experienced violent riots in February, when clashes between rival gangs vying for control of the country’s main prisons left 79 inmates dead in a single day.

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History of this topic

At least 15 inmates killed in a fight in Ecuador’s largest prison
1 month, 1 week ago

At least 15 inmates killed in a fight in Ecuador’s largest prison

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — A fight among inmates in Ecuador’s largest and most dangerous prison left 15 dead and 14 wounded, authorities said Tuesday, in the bloodiest prison episode faced by President Daniel Noboa’s government. The latest violence underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the Noboa administration in addressing the country’s severe prison crisis. The mass killing is bound to agitate …

At least 15 dead as inmates clash at notorious Ecuadorian prison
1 month, 1 week ago

At least 15 dead as inmates clash at notorious Ecuadorian prison

CNN  

CNN — At least 15 people have been killed and 14 injured in clashes between inmates at one of Ecuador’s largest and most notorious prisons, local authorities say. The violence broke out early Tuesday in one of the pavilions at Litoral Penitentiary in the coastal city of Guayaquil, according to national prison agency SNAI. Inmates' relatives embrace outside the Litoral …

Five jailed for 2023 murder of Ecuador presidential candidate
5 months, 1 week ago

Five jailed for 2023 murder of Ecuador presidential candidate

Al Jazeera  

Former journalist Fernando Villavicencio’s family and friends have urged an investigation into who ordered his killing. A court in Ecuador has handed down prison sentences of 12 to 34 years to five people found guilty of conspiring to murder presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. According to the attorney general’s office, Carlos Edwin Angulo Lara, known as ‘El Invisible’, gave the order …

Gunmen in Ecuador kill 8, injure 8 others in attack in coastal city of Guayaquil as violence surges
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Gunmen in Ecuador kill 8, injure 8 others in attack in coastal city of Guayaquil as violence surges

The Independent  

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Ecuador: 5 tourists kidnapped, killed by 'rival gangsters'
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Ecuador: 5 tourists kidnapped, killed by 'rival gangsters'

Firstpost  

Six adults and a child were abducted on Friday when about 20 attackers broke into a hotel in the southern Ecuadorian beach town of Ayampe, according to local police chief Richard Vaca The assailants "apparently mistook them for adversaries" from a rival drug gang, said Vaca.President Daniel Noboa said one person has been arrested so far in the case and …

Ecuador jails back in control of the government days after inmates held 200 officials as hostages
11 months, 1 week ago

Ecuador jails back in control of the government days after inmates held 200 officials as hostages

Firstpost  

Ecuador’s security forces reclaimed control of several prisons that had fallen into the hands of gang members on Sunday, after securing the release of more than 200 officials who had been held hostage inside. Following the dangerous drug lord’s prison escape, the government and powerful narco gangs declared an all-out war on one another, sparking the nation’s long-brewing security crisis. …

41 Hostage Prison Workers Are Freed in Ecuador
11 months, 1 week ago

41 Hostage Prison Workers Are Freed in Ecuador

News 18  

More than 40 Ecuador prison officials taken hostage by inmates have been freed, the prisons authority said Saturday, as the country grapples with a brutal campaign of gang terror. The 24 guards and 17 administrative employees “were released,” the SNAI prisons authority said without providing details, while 133 guards and three employees continue to be held hostage. The guards and …

Ecuador prison staff held hostage by inmates all freed
11 months, 1 week ago

Ecuador prison staff held hostage by inmates all freed

Al Jazeera  

Prison authorities say 158 guards and 20 administrative staffers were held by inmates in at least seven prisons. “Security protocols and the joint work of the police and the national army enabled the release of all the hostages who were being held in various prisons across the country,” SNAI prison authorities said in a statement on the social media platform …

A Spike in Violence Rattles Ecuador as Nightclub Arson Kills 2 and False Bomb Sparks Evacuation
11 months, 1 week ago

A Spike in Violence Rattles Ecuador as Nightclub Arson Kills 2 and False Bomb Sparks Evacuation

News 18  

A fake bomb threat rattled the capital of Ecuador on Thursday, sparking the mobilization of an anti-explosives unit to a bustling area, while authorities in a city west of Quito responded to a nightclub arson that killed two people as the South American country staggers under a spike in violence. Police said they were forced to evacuate people from Playón …

Ecuador’s narco gang violence: A timeline of the recent crisis
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Ecuador’s narco gang violence: A timeline of the recent crisis

Al Jazeera  

Long seen as stable in a region wracked with drug-related crime, Ecuador is now seeing brazen attacks that have shocked many. Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has declared a state of emergency after at least 10 people were killed in a series of bold attacks in the past several days, as the South American country grapples with record gang-related violence. Before …

Ten killed, gangs unleash terror as Ecuador declares state of emergency
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Ten killed, gangs unleash terror as Ecuador declares state of emergency

Al Jazeera  

Gunmen storm TV station during live broadcast, more than 20 violent incidents reported as country lurches into crisis. At least 10 people have been killed in Ecuador in a series of attacks blamed on armed gangs, as the country plunges into chaos in what the new president has called an “internal armed conflict”. President Daniel Noboa, 36, declared a 60-day …

Ecuador in state of emergency after drug boss’s prison break
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Ecuador in state of emergency after drug boss’s prison break

The Telegraph  

A notorious trafficking kingpin linked to the escalating drug gang war in Ecuador has broken out of prison, triggering a state of emergency and a wave of violence. Authorities in the once relatively peaceful South American country launched one of the biggest manhunts in its history after José Adolfo Macias Villamar, known as “Fito,” escaped in the port city of …

How will the deaths of high-profile murder suspects tip Ecuador’s election?
1 year, 2 months ago

How will the deaths of high-profile murder suspects tip Ecuador’s election?

Al Jazeera  

Seven suspects in the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio have died in prison this month. “All the were Colombian nationals and were charged with the assassination of ex-presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio,” SNAI said in its press release. “If anything happens, they change their minds.” A tight election Maluk believes the fallout from the seven killings could weigh heavily on …

A seventh man accused in killing of an Ecuador presidential candidate is slain inside prison
1 year, 2 months ago

A seventh man accused in killing of an Ecuador presidential candidate is slain inside prison

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — A seventh man accused in the August assassination of an Ecuadorian presidential candidate was killed inside a prison in Ecuador’s capital, authorities said Saturday, a day after six others allegedly linked to the crime were slain in a different lockup. The prison system said in a press release that the man killed was being held at a …

Colombians held over Ecuador presidential candidate’s murder slain in jail
1 year, 2 months ago

Colombians held over Ecuador presidential candidate’s murder slain in jail

Al Jazeera  

Ecuador’s President pledges to get to bottom of killings in prison of six Colombian suspects in high-profile murder. Six Colombian inmates killed in a prison in Ecuador were all suspects in the murder of the country’s anticorruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio earlier this year, Ecuadorian authorities have confirmed. They “are of Colombian nationality and were accused of the murder of …

Councillor’s murder in Ecuador fuels crime concerns ahead of election
1 year, 3 months ago

Councillor’s murder in Ecuador fuels crime concerns ahead of election

Al Jazeera  

The death of Bolivar Vera is the latest in a string of political violence as Ecuador struggles with rising homicide rates. A kidnapped municipal councillor was found dead in Ecuador, prompting renewed concern over political violence in the lead-up to the country’s presidential run-off election. ‘Easy recruits for criminal gangs’ Over the last few years, Ecuador has seen a spike …

Car bomb explosions and hostage-taking inside prisons underscore Ecuador’s fragile security
1 year, 3 months ago

Car bomb explosions and hostage-taking inside prisons underscore Ecuador’s fragile security

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador’s fragile security situation was underscored Thursday by a series of car bombings and the hostage-taking of more than 50 law enforcement officers inside various prisons, just weeks after the country was shaken by the assassination of a presidential candidate. Ecuador’s National Police reported no injuries resulting from the four explosions in Quito, the capital, and in …

Ecuadorian police arrest six after car bombs explode in Quito
1 year, 3 months ago

Ecuadorian police arrest six after car bombs explode in Quito

Al Jazeera  

South American nation is grappling with surge in violence as voters prepare for October presidential run-off. Police in Ecuador have arrested six suspects after a car bombing in a commercial area of the capital, Quito, as the South American nation grapples with a surge in violence that authorities say is linked to drug trafficking. The vehicle exploded due to the …

Political leader in Ecuador is killed less than a week after presidential candidate’s assassination
1 year, 4 months ago

Political leader in Ecuador is killed less than a week after presidential candidate’s assassination

Associated Press  

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — The unprecedented violence shaking Ecuador claimed the life of another political leader Monday, bringing the number of politics-related slayings within the last four weeks to three, including that of a presidential candidate. “A heartfelt hug to the family of colleague Pedro Briones, fallen by the hands of violence.” The killing of Briones, who was a political leader …

Ecuador was calm and peaceful. Now hitmen, kidnappers and robbers walk the streets
1 year, 4 months ago

Ecuador was calm and peaceful. Now hitmen, kidnappers and robbers walk the streets

Associated Press  

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — Belen Diaz was walking home from college one evening when a motorcycle carrying two men made a menacing U-turn. “We are at the hands of drug trafficking, of evil in its entirety.” The country’s National Police tallied 3,568 violent deaths in the first six months of this year, far more than the 2,042 reported during the same …

Is Ecuador succumbing to gang violence and organised crime?
1 year, 4 months ago

Is Ecuador succumbing to gang violence and organised crime?

Al Jazeera  

A state of emergency has been imposed after assassination of presidential candidate. Fernando Villavicencio is the third electoral candidate to be killed in Ecuador in a matter of weeks. The former investigative journalist campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, accusing government officials of having links to organised crime. Ecuador is struggling with rising gang violence and drug trafficking. Presenter: Adrian Finighan …

Ecuador collects body parts from major prison after multi-day uprising leaves dozens dead
1 year, 4 months ago

Ecuador collects body parts from major prison after multi-day uprising leaves dozens dead

CNN  

CNN — At least 11 “complete bodies” and dozens of body parts, including human heads, were recovered on Wednesday from a major prison in Ecuador, after days of deadly prison clashes. However, the National Forensic Service of Ecuador has cautioned that the official death toll remains to be fully determined, as many body parts must still be identified. Cesar Munoz/AP …

Ecuador assesses toll of prison violence as 17 guards still held
1 year, 4 months ago

Ecuador assesses toll of prison violence as 17 guards still held

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say they are still determining an official death toll after days of violence across Ecuador’s prisons. Authorities in Ecuador continue to assess the toll of a days-long spate of prison violence, after President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in the country’s detention system in a push to restore calm. Police said on Wednesday that they had recovered …

Toll from Ecuador jail riots hits 31 as army wrests back control
1 year, 5 months ago

Toll from Ecuador jail riots hits 31 as army wrests back control

Al Jazeera  

Death toll from riots in Ecuador’s prisons climbs as soldiers storm a violence-hobbled jail in port of Guayaquil. Dozens of people have died from a wave of violence in Ecuador’s most dangerous prison, officials said, hours as President Guillermo Lasso imposed a 60-day state of emergency across the country’s penitentiary system. The prosecutor’s office raised the toll to 31 from …

Ecuador announces state of emergency after mayor shot to death
1 year, 5 months ago

Ecuador announces state of emergency after mayor shot to death

Al Jazeera  

The country is also contending with violence within its prison system as deadly clashes erupt between gangs. Ecuador has announced a state of emergency in three provinces after a shooting left two people dead, including the mayor of a major city. In announcing the measure on Monday, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso paid tribute to the two victims, Agustín Intriago and …

Ecuador declares state of emergency amid violent clashes
1 year, 5 months ago

Ecuador declares state of emergency amid violent clashes

The Hindu  

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso on Monday declared a state of emergency and night curfews in three coastal provinces, amid a wave of violence over the weekend in the Andean country that left at least eight people dead. Lasso declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Manabi and Los Rios and in the city of Duran, near Guayaquil, after …

Over 90 prison guards are being held hostage by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador
1 year, 5 months ago

Over 90 prison guards are being held hostage by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador

CNN  

CNN — Ecuador’s government has declared a state of emergency in two provinces after its security crisis escalated over the weekend with the killing of a mayor and uprisings in several penitentiaries across the country. More than 90 prison security agents are currently being held by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador, according to the country’s penitentiary service SNAI. …

Mayor of Ecuador port city slain in shooting that kills 1 other, wounds 4
1 year, 5 months ago

Mayor of Ecuador port city slain in shooting that kills 1 other, wounds 4

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — The mayor of Ecuador’s third largest city was slain Sunday in a shooting that killed one other person and wounded four more, including two suspected attackers, officials said. The victim’s sister, Ana Intriago, wrote on her Twitter account that “this crime cannot go unpunished.. Let’s not let them win.” Manta is about 260 kilometers southwest of Ecuador’s …

Death toll rises to 46 in Honduran women’s prison gang violence
1 year, 6 months ago

Death toll rises to 46 in Honduran women’s prison gang violence

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say they are working to identify bodies burned during rioting on Tuesday. The number of people killed during a spate of rioting and fires at a Honduran women’s prison this week has risen to 46 with dozens of families waiting for the bodies of their loved ones to be released. The shooting and burning of dozens of people, one …

Ten killed as gang bosses’ transfer sparks prison riot in Ecuador
2 years, 1 month ago

Ten killed as gang bosses’ transfer sparks prison riot in Ecuador

Al Jazeera  

Ecuador has experienced eight prison riots which have left about 400 inmates dead since February 2021. Ten inmates have been killed in a riot at a prison in Ecuador’s capital Quito, which authorities said took place as a result of the government’s decision to relocate three crime bosses to a high-security facility. The prison riot and killings are the latest …

UN experts sound alarm as Ecuador sees more deadly prison clashes
2 years, 2 months ago

UN experts sound alarm as Ecuador sees more deadly prison clashes

Al Jazeera  

Recent violence in Ecuador’s prisons is the result of ‘decades of state abandonment’, United Nations panel says. A panel of United Nations experts has raised “grave” concerns about the deadly violence plaguing Ecuador’s prisons, as officials in the South American nation said after more than two dozen people were killed in bloody clashes this week. Hundreds of people have been …

At least 15 killed in latest Ecuador prison riot
2 years, 2 months ago

At least 15 killed in latest Ecuador prison riot

Al Jazeera  

South American nation’s prison agency says 14 people were taken to hospital and work is under way to identify the dead. At least 15 prisoners have been killed and many wounded in the latest riot to hit Ecuador’s troubled prison system. Monday’s rioting at the Cotopaxi No 1 jail in Latacunga left “15 people dead and 20 injured,” said a …

Ecuador says 12 killed in latest deadly prison riot
2 years, 5 months ago

Ecuador says 12 killed in latest deadly prison riot

Al Jazeera  

Authorities lower death toll from 13 after riot at Bellavista prison as work continues to identify dismembered bodies. “Crime scene investigation teams have collected 45 human parts in the Santo Domingo penitentiary, which are 12 bodies and not 13,” Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said on Twitter on Tuesday. The incident is the latest bout of deadly violence to grip Ecuador’s …

Dominican Republic jail riot leaves one prisoner dead, six others injured
2 years, 5 months ago

Dominican Republic jail riot leaves one prisoner dead, six others injured

Daily Mail  

At least one prisoner was killed and six others were injured after inmates rioted over alleged mistreatment at a jail in the eastern Dominican Republic city of Higuey on Monday. Still image from a cellphone video shows inmates seeking cover during Monday's riot that left one prisoner dead and six others injured at the Anamuya Correction and Rehabilitation Penitentiary in …

Dozens of people dead in Colombia prison riot
2 years, 5 months ago

Dozens of people dead in Colombia prison riot

Al Jazeera  

Forty-nine people have been killed and 30 injured during attempted escape from prison in Tulua, officials say. At least 49 people have died and dozens were injured in a fire during an apparent riot in a prison in the southwestern Colombian city of Tulua, according to officials. General Tito Castellanos, the head of the national prisons agency, said on Tuesday …

Indigenous protester dies in Ecuador as violence increases
2 years, 6 months ago

Indigenous protester dies in Ecuador as violence increases

Al Jazeera  

On Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 Indigenous people took to the streets of Quito. An Indigenous protester has died in Ecuador as violence increased amid days of anti-government protests that the country’s military has labelled as a “grave threat” to democracy. On Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 Indigenous people took to the streets in the capital Quito, continuing demonstrations that began on …

Traumatised families demand reforms after Ecuador prison riots
2 years, 6 months ago

Traumatised families demand reforms after Ecuador prison riots

Al Jazeera  

Hundreds have died in a series of recent prison massacres, as critics say the government is neglecting its duty of care. He finally called around 9pm via WhatsApp, a common form of communication within Ecuador’s prisons, and told his family he was OK – but they could hear explosions and gunshots in the background. “How can I not be angry?” …

Ecuador imprisonment ‘almost a death sentence’: Amnesty
2 years, 7 months ago

Ecuador imprisonment ‘almost a death sentence’: Amnesty

Al Jazeera  

Rights group calls on government to address structural problems as prison riot left at least 44 inmates dead this week. Imprisonment is nearly “a death sentence” in Ecuador, Amnesty International has warned, a day after the latest prison riot in the South American nation left dozens of inmates dead. In a statement on Tuesday, the human rights group’s Americas director …

Dozens dead in latest Ecuador prison riot
2 years, 7 months ago

Dozens dead in latest Ecuador prison riot

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say at least 43 people killed after a fight broke out between rival gangs at prison 80km from Quito. Dozens of people have been killed in a fight between rival gangs inside a prison in Ecuador, the public prosecutor’s office said, in the latest instance of deadly prison violence in the South American nation. Authorities said a fight broke …

Ecuador declares emergency in three provinces over drug violence
2 years, 7 months ago

Ecuador declares emergency in three provinces over drug violence

Al Jazeera  

Thousands of police and troops will be deployed under the state of emergency, the second to be imposed by the president in a bid to curb drug-linked violence. Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso has imposed a state of emergency in three provinces blaming drug-related violence. It is the second time Lasso has used emergency powers to counter violence that has surged …

Ecuador pardons some inmates after deadly prison riots
3 years, 1 month ago

Ecuador pardons some inmates after deadly prison riots

Al Jazeera  

Ecuador is seeking to ease overcrowding in its prisons after gang-linked riots killed more than 300 people this year. Ecuador’s president has pardoned some prisoners in an effort to ease overcrowding in the country’s prisons following a string of riots that left more than 300 people dead this year. In a statement late on Monday, Guillermo Lasso’s press office said …

‘We are all suffering’: What’s going on inside Ecuador’s prisons?
3 years, 1 month ago

‘We are all suffering’: What’s going on inside Ecuador’s prisons?

Al Jazeera  

Hundreds have been killed in gang-linked riots this year, as experts say systemic problems plague country’s prisons. “Like all the other mothers in Guayaquil say, don’t give information, we don’t know anything, we don’t have access to anything.” Systemic problems Security experts in Ecuador have identified 11 armed groups that control the country’s prisons, including Ecuador’s largest, Los Choneros – …

Gun battle between rival gangs at Ecuador prison leaves at least 68 dead
3 years, 1 month ago

Gun battle between rival gangs at Ecuador prison leaves at least 68 dead

LA Times  

The body of an inmate killed in a gang battle at the Litoral Penitentiary is lowered by police from the roof of the prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Saturday. A prolonged gun battle between rival gangs inside Ecuador’s largest prison left at least 68 inmates dead and 25 wounded Saturday, while authorities said it took most of the day to …

Dozens of inmates killed in latest Ecuador prison clashes
3 years, 1 month ago

Dozens of inmates killed in latest Ecuador prison clashes

Al Jazeera  

Police say 58 prisoners killed and 12 wounded in another round of violence to hit Penitenciaria del Litoral in Guayaquil. Dozens of inmates have been killed in fierce clashes in a prison in Ecuador’s largest city of Guayaquil, according to authorities. “According to preliminary information, some 68 prisoners were killed and another 25 were wounded,” the Ecuador Prosecutor’s Office wrote …

Ecuador president declares state of emergency over drug violence
3 years, 2 months ago

Ecuador president declares state of emergency over drug violence

Al Jazeera  

President Guillermo Lasso orders the mobilisation of police and military in the streets as he struggles to curb drug-related violence. Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has declared a state of emergency as the country grapples with a surge in drug-related violence, and ordered the police and military onto the streets. “In the streets of Ecuador there is only one enemy: drug …

Ecuador to pardon up to 2,000 inmates after deadly prison riot
3 years, 2 months ago

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

Al Jazeera  

Move aims to reduce overcrowding in detention centres after 118 inmates died in an Ecuadorian prison riot this week. 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. At least 118 …

At least 116 dead in gang battle at Ecuador jail; 5 beheaded
3 years, 2 months ago

At least 116 dead in gang battle at Ecuador jail; 5 beheaded

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — A battle between gangs in a prison killed at least 116 people and injured 80 in what authorities are calling the worst penitentiary massacre in Ecuador’s history. “In the history of the country, there has not been an incident similar or close to this one,” said Ledy Zúñiga, the former president of Ecuador’s National Rehabilitation Council. Col. …

Ecuador declares emergency in prisons after 116 inmates killed
3 years, 2 months ago

Ecuador declares emergency in prisons after 116 inmates killed

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say the deadly riots at the prison in Guayaquil are the worst in the country’s history. Ecuador’s president has declared a state of emergency in the prison system after deadly clashes among gang members in a coastal prison killed at least 116 people and injured 80. “In the history of the country, there has not been an incident similar …

Ecuador deploys 100s of police to prison hit by deadly riot
3 years, 2 months ago

Ecuador deploys 100s of police to prison hit by deadly riot

Al Jazeera  

At least 116 inmates were killed this week in a prison riot that Ecuadorian officials say is linked to rival drug gangs. Ecuador’s national police force has said it sent hundreds of officers to a prison where a riot between rival gangs this week left at least 116 inmates dead and injured dozens more, in the deadliest outbreak of prison …

At least 24 killed in Ecuador prison gang riot: Police
3 years, 2 months ago

At least 24 killed in Ecuador prison gang riot: Police

Al Jazeera  

An Ecuador official said order restored in a prison after 24 killed and 42 wounded in one of the deadliest riots. At least 24 prisoners have been killed in a battle between inmates equipped with firearms and grenades at a prison in Guayaquil, according to Ecuador’s national bureau of prisons, which added that at least 42 others were wounded in …

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