Quito: 15 prisoners were killed in a riot in the Cotopaxi prison in Ecuador. 20 people were injured. 14 injured were hospitalized. The Governor of Cotopaxi informed that procedures are underway to identify the bodies of the victims and that security has been strengthened on the site.
This is the latest outbreak of violence fueled by the failure of Ecuador’s prison system. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the country’s prison system lacks a comprehensive policy and that detainees are being held in dangerous and overcrowded prisons. According to official figures, there are about 33,500 people in Ecuador’s prisons. This is 11.3 more than the maximum capacity of the prisons.
In February 2021, 400 inmates died in another prison riot in the country. 55 people died in two clashes in the Santa Domingo prison.
–
