Quito: At least three inmates were killed and six wounded in an overnight riot at an Ecuadorian prison after one of the country’s most feared gang leaders escaped in January, authorities said Thursday.
It marked the latest prison violence in Guayaquil, a port city that has become a dangerous hub for exporting cocaine to neighboring countries.
The SNAI prison agency said in a statement that three inmates died in Wednesday’s “clash” with security forces, but that the facility “is 100 percent under control.”
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said on Twitter on Wednesday that security forces had prevented a “possible escalation”.
The unrest was the first since Noboa took office in November.
AFP reporters heard gunshots and saw fires spreading inside the prison, one of four that make up Guayaquil’s sprawling prison complex.
On Thursday, about 200 relatives of prisoners burned tires to block traffic near the prison to protest the alleged mistreatment of prisoners by the military – which has been cited as the cause of the unrest.
In January, the regional jail came under the spotlight after Adolfo “Fito” Macias, the leader of one of the country’s most powerful gangs, escaped from prison. He remains at large.
