They are chronically overcrowded and there are always riots or fights.
According to police, at least 68 inmates were killed in renewed clashes in a prison in Ecuador. At least 25 other prisoners were injured, according to the authorities on Saturday.
▶ ︎ The fighting between inmates in the port city of Guayaquil began on Friday. The police had “saved lives” through their intervention, said the governor of the province of Guayas, Pablo Arosemena. In September, fighting between rival gangs in the same prison resulted in 119 deaths.
Relatives stood helplessly in front of the prison and burst into tearsPhoto: VICENTE GAIBOR DEL PINO / REUTERS
In Ecuadorian prisons there are frequent clashes between members of gangs connected to Mexican drug cartels. With its location between the major drug producers Colombia and Peru, Ecuador is an important hub for drug smuggling to the USA and Europe. Guayaquil in southwest Ecuador is the country’s most important port city. It is considered to be the central hub for the cocaine trade.