An altercation in a prison in Ecuador results in at least thirteen deaths

The Comprehensive Care Service for Adults Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) of Ecuador has reported this Monday that at least 13 prisoners have died and two have been injured in the Ecuadorian prison of Bellavista in the town of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. After learning about the altercation in the Santo Domingo prison, the SNAI has indicated on its Twitter account that they have requested “immediate support from the National Police, the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Public Health.” At 5:54 p.m. (local time), the SNAI indicated that control of that penitentiary center had already been reestablished with the support of the security forces. “The institutions in charge of internal and external security continue to monitor the center. While the verification of the deceased will be carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office, as the competent body for the verification of victims,” ​​the SNAI has affirmed. The government of Guillermo Lasso promised in May 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 proposed a series of initiatives, including a prison census.