Ecuador police regain control of prison riot bloodbath
- At least 118 die in deadliest outbreak of prison violence in Ecuador’s history
- Authorities linked violence to gangs vying for control of drug trafficking
Police gained control of an Ecuador prison where rioting has left at least 118 inmates dead, some of them decapitated, as rival drug gangs went to war armed with guns and grenades.
Another 86 inmates were wounded, six of them critically, according to Ecuador’s prisons authority, in what was the worst prison bloodbath ever in the country and one of the deadliest prison battles in South American history.
By late Thursday police commander General Tannya Varela told reporters that the inmates “no longer have control of the cell blocks”, adding that the prisoners were back in their cells and “everything is calm”.
The restored order came after a massive security operation involving some 900 officers and members of tactical units engaged in what the police service said was a “mega-operation” to regain control.
On Wednesday at least two officers were injured when rioting inmates, armed with guns, attacked police sent in to retake control of the facility.