QUITO – Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso Wednesday declared an emergency in the prison system as around 118 people have been killed at Litoral penitentiary in Guayaquil while more than 100 suffered injuries in the ‘worst’ prison massacre in the history of the South American country.
Reports in international media quoting sources said five of the deceased were found decapitated amid the blood bath while troops deployed to take control of the penitentiary as the drug mafia is fighting to control the prison.
Ecuador President Thursday issued a statement on the deadly scenario saying what was happening in the Guayaquil prison was ‘bad and sad’ and he could not guarantee that authorities had regained control. The 65-year-old also added, “It is regrettable that the prisons are being turned into territories for power disputes by criminal gangs”.
Meanwhile, the distressed premier vowed to regain control of the prison and prevent the violence from spreading. Amid the deadliest fight, law enforcers rescued six cooks while some cops suffered injuries. The Creating Opportunities leader also announced to extend support to inmates’ relatives.
Videos shared on social media showed a plethora of bodies in the prison’s premises while the fighting between armed personnel and inmates depicted nothing less than a battlefield as firearms, knives, and bombs were reportedly used that killed more than a hundred.
Some of the aftermath of the brutal prison riot in Guayaquil, Ecuador where at least 116 were killed with 5 of the victims beheaded in fight supposedly between the Choneros and Lobos gangshttps://t.co/JTHvH25f3p pic.twitter.com/UZ8pR47Sw1
— Aparición 👻 (jalohuín) (@ElParece) October 1, 2021
In the meantime, distressed and heart-wrenched families of the inmates are continuously looking for their loved ones as officials said identification of the dead bodies will take time.
Some reports cited that the deadliest clashes erupted when some gang members barged into the other wing via a hole and they later slay rival prisoners while others hinted that clashes could have been staged from outside the world amid the power struggle between cartels in the South American country.
Let it be known that this is not the first such situation as numerous gang battles occurred back in the day. Around 80 prisoners were killed earlier this year.
Besides the gang rivalries, shortage of guards and armed personnel are some of the other factors that sparked these circumstances.
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