Ecuador declares state of emergency in prisons amid gang war

Ecuador on Tuesday (25 July) declared a 60-day state of emergency in the country's prisons.

The move follows a wave of violence that left 31 inmates dead.

The emergency declaration was closely followed by violence in the northwestern province of Esmeraldas. A police unit was attacked alongside the office of the attorney general, which was pelted with a Molotov cocktail, injuring one civilian. 

Several cars were also burned, with explosives placed at gas stations. The government also said that 15 prison guards and two other staffers were being held hostage at a local jail in the city of Esmeraldas.

What else do we know about the measure?
Around 2,700 soldiers stormed a prison to retake control following riots that started on Sunday between rival gangs in the Guayas 1 prison in the port city of Guayaquil. The complex houses over 5,600 prisoners.

The prosecutor's office said that 14 people were injured in the confrontations.

Among the wounded was one member of the security forces.

The country's military said that troops and police entered Guayas 1 to restore order and search for weapons and other illegal items after the state of emergency came into force.

Ecuador's government said it had regained "total control" of Guayas 1.

President Guillermo Lasso said in a message posted on social media that the government "will never yield" to criminal violence.

The post included photos of security forces standing guard over shirtless prisoners with their hands tied.

"The mission is to restore order in this detention centre in order to protect the lives, health and safety of inmates," armed forces commander General Nelson Proano said while speaking to reporters in front of Guayas 1.

He said that explosions heard from within the complex were "detonations made by the elite groups of the armed forces."

Violence in Ecuadorian prisons
Riots between rival gangs in Ecuadorian prisons have claimed at least 420 lives since 2021.

Ecuador, which borders major cocaine producers Colombia and Peru, serves as a launch point for shipments of the drug to the United States and Europe through its Guayaquil port.

On Monday, authorities said that dozens of guards were being held hostage in prisons in five provinces.

The SNAI prison authority said that the prison guards were in "good shape."

Also on Monday, authorities said that prisoners at 13 facilities were on hunger strike.