Big Breking: At least 75 inmates dead in Ecuador prison riots

The cause of death was a riot of prisoners.75 prisoners have died in Ecuadorian prisons.

                           

Authorities say the military is trying to regain control of the prisons.Ecuador prison riots-Pic/AFP

   

  The cause of death was a riot of prisoners.

   Authorities say the military is trying to regain control of the prisons.

    At least 75 inmates died and several others were injured in riots on Tuesday as overcrowded inmates in Ecuador became disillusioned with the prison system.

                          

 As security forces continued to fight to regain control, family members of the detainees were waiting for news outside prisons - Pic /twiteer Social Media

                      

  As security forces continued to fight to regain control Prison riots in Equdor, family members of the detainees were waiting for news outside a prison in the western Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil, where officials said 21 deaths had been reported.

                           

Video Credit -News China Tv

                  

  Edmundo Monkayo, director of the government's SNAI prison management agency, said eight more people had died in the southern Quenca prison and eight in Latakunga in central South America.

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  "We want the list of deaths we've been given," said Daniela Soria, 29, one of about 40 women waiting outside the Gayakil prison, breaking down in tears.

                            

We want the list of deaths we've been given," said Daniela Soria, 29, one of about 40 women waiting outside the Gayakil prison, breaking down in tears.-Pic/twiteer Social Media

                         

  “We know the problems haven’t been resolved because everyone there has a phone and my husband doesn’t call me,” she said.

 

  Earlier, she received a WhatsApp voice message from her husband Ricardo, which was at AFP.

 

  "They'll kill me, get me out of here!"  He can be heard screaming, in that voice message.

 

  Deploy the army

  Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno has blamed the riots on Twitter as "criminal organizations" involved in "simultaneous violence in several prisons".

                   

  Authorities, he said, were "trying to regain control."

  Military forces were deployed to help police control the insurgency.

The Office of the Public Defender, another member of the Constituent Assembly for Human Rights, called the violence an "unprecedented genocide" and "expressed concern about the lack of security in the country, which reflects the rise in crime and violence inside the prison facilities."

  Prosecutors say many detainees were injured in the fighting between "criminal gangs", including two from Gayakil, in critical condition.

    Monkayo ​​said several police officers were injured, but no deaths were reported among security personnel.

  Police Commander Patricio Carrillo described the situation as "critical", while Interior Minister Patricio Pazmino described it as "a definite step by criminal organizations to create violence in these centers."  A central command post was formed to respond.

  Prison authorities described fierce fighting between riot gangs such as Los Pipos, Los Lobes and Tigrons.  They rely exclusively on drug trafficking and run their criminal business from prison.

  Monkayo ​​told reporters that on Monday guards recovered two firearms, which could have been used to kill the leader of a group held in a Guayaquil prison.

  "Inside, it's like a market with drugs, weapons and even puppies. Everything is sold," said Soria, Ricardo's wife.

  The overflowing crowd

                

    In order to reduce the number of prisoners in the coronavirus epidemic, the government reduced the convictions of those convicted of petty crimes from 42% to 30% of the population.

      It still leaves the Ecuadorian prison system, with a capacity of 29,000 inmates in a 60-year-old manner and a prisoner population of 38,000.

There are 1,500 guards watching them.

SNAI said staff shortages "hindered an immediate response" to the prisoners' unrest.

Last year, according to police, 51 people died in a prison dispute.

A 90-day state of emergency in the country's prison was ordered by Moreno last year to try to control gang activity and reduce violence.

                         

Eleven prisoners were killed and seven wounded in prison riots in December.

The rioting on Tuesday coincided with a march of hundreds of locals in Quito, calling for a vote count after the first round of presidential elections this month, leaving their candidate chilling.