Ecuador prison riot leaves 43 dead, 108 on the run

ECUADOR: At least 43 inmates died on Monday in Ecuador’s latest grisly prison riot, the public prosecutor said, as another 100 prisoners managed to escape.

Authorities said a fight broke out between the rival Los Lobos and R7 gangs inside the Bellavista prison in Santo Domingo de los Colorados, in the center of Ecuador some 80km from Quito.

“For now there are 43 inmates dead,” said the public prosecutor’s office on Twitter, adding that the situation was “developing.”

Police Chief Fausto Salinas told reporters that 108 were missing after another 112 escaped prisoners were recaptured. The South American country’s prison authority SNAI said it has activated “security protocols” to contain the “disturbances to order”.

Interior minister Patricio Carrillo initially told reporters that two inmates had been killed before later increasing that figure to 41 in a press conference.

However, he also said “13 people have been taken to hospital, several with serious injuries, and it is possible the number (of dead) will rise.”

Prior to this one, around 350 inmates had been killed in five separate prison riots since February 2021. – THE BANGKOK POST