Four hundred police officers raided the prison in the Ecuadorean port city of Guayaquil on Thursday. More than a hundred people were killed in the riots and some were beheaded.
The prison riot broke out on Tuesday between various criminal gangs and is said to have lasted for six hours. Then the police sent the officers who were able to release six cooks. Two officers were injured. On Wednesday, police said the situation was back under control, but gunshots and explosions resounded again Thursday morning.
“More than 100 detainees were killed and 52 others wounded,” the Prison Service wrote on Twitter. President Guillermo Laso spoke of the 116 deaths at a press conference. Police said at least six people were beheaded, while others were shot or wounded by hand grenades.
On Thursday, the police decided to return more officers to prison. Pictures were posted on Twitter of 400 men preparing for a raid.
The fact that only two officers were wounded and more than a hundred inmates were killed indicates a compromise between the inmates, not an uprising. According to local media, Mexican gangs operating in Ecuador are behind the brutal killing.
In recent months, violent clashes have been frequent in Ecuadorean prisons. In September, suspected gang members attacked Guayaquil prison with armed drones. In July, 21 people were killed in riots in Guayaquil and Cotopaxi prisons. In February, 79 people were killed in gang clashes in several prisons.
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