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Ecuador: Prisoners release 57 guards held hostage

September 2, 2023

Several guards and other officials had been held hostage after an attempt to raid prisons for weapons. The country was rocked by multiple explosions in less than 48 hours.

https://p.dw.com/p/4VsBr
People standing on the rooftop of prison facilities.
Several officials who were held hostage by inmates have been released in EcuadorImage: Xavier Caivinagua/AP/picture alliance

Inmates in six Ecuadorian prisons released the 57 officials who had been held hostage in several jails in the country, said the state prison institute on Friday.

The 50 guards and seven police officers "are undergoing medical evaluation to verify their health status," prison authorities said.

The narcotics-related mayhem lasted for more than a day in what the government described as an effort by criminal groups to regain control of several large correctional facilities in Ecuador.

Locals suffer as Ecuador's gangs fight for control

A spate of violence

Apart from the hostage situation, officials reported that four car bombs and three explosive devices went off across the country in less than 48 hours.

It began with two car bombs being detonated near buildings belonging to prison authorities in Quito on Wednesday. Two other car bombs went off in the southwestern province of El Oro.

Three more grenade explosions across the capital were reported. Criminal groups on Friday used explosives to damage a bridge.

Authorities inspect a vehicle that exploded near a prison facility
Several explosions were reported under 48 hours in EcuadorImage: Carlos Noriega/AP Photo/picture alliance

The attacks did not claim any victims but are said to be a show of force by criminal gangs. Meanwhile, the prison uprising is believed to be in retaliation to an official raid conducted to confiscate weapons inside prisons.

Authorities said several people have been arrested in connection to the different explosions.

An election marred by crime

The latest violence comes in the midst of an election marred by the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, a presidential candidate known for his tough stance on organized crime.

Presidential candidate assassinated at rally in Ecuador

On Wednesday, six Colombians accused of his murder were moved between prisons to avoid gang violence, said Wagner Bravo, the security minister.

President Guillermo Lasso, in July, announced a 60-day state emergency for Ecuador's prisons, allowing the deployment of soldiers to control the system. This had further ignited tensions.

A spike in gang violence

Ecuadorian officials attribute the spike in violence in the last three years to the power vacuum triggered by the 2020 killing of Jorge Zambrano, alias "Rasquina" or "JL," the leader of the local Los Choneros gang.

Gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels are now fighting to control territory and drug routes, including within prisons in Latacunga, Cuenca and Azogues, which are allegedly controlled by the criminal gang.

Violence within detention facilities has killed over 430 inmates in Ecuador prisons since 2021.

ns/sms (AFP, AP)