Ecuadorian authorities confirm one deceased and two injured after riots in a Guayaquil prison

MADRID, 25 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

At least one prisoner has died and three others have been injured in Ecuador as a result of the clashes that took place this Monday at the Guayaquil Prison Center 1, known as Penitenciaría del Litoral, the largest prison in Ecuador.

The National Service for Comprehensive Care for Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI) has reported that "before the confrontation between inmates (...) they have proceeded, among other actions, to the evacuation of administrative personnel, while the National Police executes its dissuasive actions".

"Unfortunately, one of the people deprived of liberty who was taken to Guayas health houses has died. Our feeling of regret with his family for what happened," the SNAI has reported.

The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health previously reported that the injured people had been transferred to local hospitals. The wounded have presented firearm wounds, reports the newspaper 'Metro Ecuador'.

The director of the SNAI, Guillermo Rodríguez, has indicated that this confrontation has taken place between members of organized crime groups.

The relatives of the prisoners, who have gathered outside the prison to wait for the reports with news of those affected, have asked that the situation of insecurity of the inmates end.

Several relatives have expressed their desire for the violence in said center to end, while criticizing the fact that there are weapons inside the prison, "if the military controls what enters the prison," reports the Ecuadorian newspaper 'El Universal'.

At the beginning of October, more than a dozen people were injured by disturbances inside the Litoral prison. Among the victims were several members of the National Police and inmates.

In the same week, two brawls were reported in the Ecuadorian Cotopaxi prison, resulting in 16 deaths and 43 injuries.

After these events, the United Nations warned of the "serious situation" of the prison system in Ecuador, a recurring scene of disturbances and alleged violations of Human Rights that would be attributable to decades of "neglect."

The Government of Guillermo Lasso has promised to reform the prison system, marked recurrently by incidents that even claim dozens of lives. Only last year some 300 inmates would have died, for which the Executive has proposed a series of initiatives, including a prison census.