[ad_1]
At least 15 inmates were killed Monday at a prison in the Ecuadorian city of Latacunga, Ecuador’s SNAI prison agency said, and 21 others were injured in the Andean country’s latest deadly prison violence.
The government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso has attributed the prison violence to a fight between gangs for control of territory and drug-trafficking routes.
Officials said authorities were working to identify the bodies, while Osvaldo Coronel, the governor of Cotopaxi province, which includes Latacunga, told reporters that security had been restored.
“Currently, according to forensic information from the National Police, 15 people have been killed (and) 21 people have been injured, 14 of whom have been evacuated to hospitals in Latacunga,” the governor said.
read more: Anti-Ukrainian war Russian journalist flees house arrest in live protest on TV
Last year, 316 inmates died in riots in prisons across Ecuador.
In July, 13 inmates were killed at a Santo Domingo prison, just two months after violence at the same facility in May left 43 dead.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said Ecuador’s prison system was affected by state abandonment, a lack of comprehensive policies and poor conditions for prisoners.
According to official figures, the country’s prisons can hold around 33,500 people, 11.3% above their maximum capacity.
[ad_2]
Source link