The “war” waged by the “international cartels” in Ecuador’s prisons has passed into the technological age. A prison in the southwest of the country was indeed the target of a drone attack, Ecuadorian authorities announced on Monday.
The penitentiary in the province of Guayas “was attacked by drones from outside [de l’établissement]. There were three explosions which caused damage to the roofs of the center “but did not cause any casualties, the prison administration (SNAI) said on Twitter. “We are at the heart of a war between INTERNATIONAL CARTELS”, she underlined, speaking of a “serious” attack.
Recurrent violence
” We suppose that [les attaques] were aiming for the wing [de sécurité] maximum where are detained two leaders ”of gangs linked to drug trafficking, explained the director of the SNAI, Fausto Cobo, interviewed by a local television. “It would be a settling of scores between these gangs and the cartels,” he added.
Ecuadorian prisons have for months been the scene of recurrent violence between rival gangs for the control of drug trafficking, according to the authorities. In February, simultaneous riots in four major prisons across the country left 79 people dead, some of whom were beheaded. According to the Ecuadorian ombudsman, 103 murders were committed in the country’s prisons in 2020. Between January and August 2021, this violence in the country’s prisons has already killed 121 people, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. man (CIDH).