MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New Ecuadorian prison riot leaves 5 inmates dead

So far in 2022, some 120 inmates have been killed in separate uprisings

Another prison riot in Ecuador Monday evening has left at least five inmates dead and six others wounded at the Pichincha correctional facility in Quito also known as “El Inca,” where some 1,365 inmates are housed.

Also suffering consequences from the violent actions was a prison guard, the authorities said.

Ecuador's National Service of Integral Attention to Adults Deprived of Liberty explained that the conflict was sparked by a clash between two inmate rival factions. According to Police General Victor Herrera, prisoners attacked each other with knives and other sharp instruments.

The clashes are said to be the result of disputes over the control of routes and territories for the domestic and international distribution of drugs. Ecuador's state prisons have been in recent years the battlefield for rival groups, some of them linked to Colombian and Mexican drug cartels.

Last week, a military force stormed the Litoral Penitentiary and managed to recapture the venue from inmates armed with grenades and rifles. After the event, over 2,000 inmates were relocated to other prisons nationwide. In September 2021, 1216 inmates were killed during a riot at El Litoral.

So far in 2022, some 120 inmates have been killed in separate uprisings.

Ecuadorian authorities reported Tuesday that 178 blades were found in the Inca prison in Quito after Monday's fight between the Los Ñetas and Los Lobos gangs. Corrections officers also found 465 doses of alkaloids, 40 cell phones, and some cash.

Reports of another riot at the Cotopaxi prison were later denied, although security protocols were activated only to find that “activities are developing normally.”

President Guillermo Lasso once again praised the Ecuadorian Police's work via Twitter.