Eight inmates dead in two prison riots

At least eight inmates were killed and ten people were injured in two prison riots on Thursday, 22 October, according to the national prison service SNAI. The service said four inmates died at the Cotopaxi No. 1 centre and four at the Pichincha No. 1 centre. Other reports placed the incidents at El Inca prison in Quito and at the prison in Latacunga, so the names of the facilities differ between sources. SNAI did not give the causes of the unrest. Authorities said the suspected perpetrators had been identified and would be moved to the maximum-security prison El Encuentro in Santa Elena, a facility the government built for the country's most wanted criminals.

Cotopaxi No. 14

Pichincha No. 14

Cotopaxi No. 1

4 deaths

Pichincha No. 1

4 deaths

Data from the article text

Scene and response

Dozens of relatives gathered outside the Pichincha prison in northern Quito demanding information, and two ambulances waited at its entrance. By the morning of Friday, 23 October, at least ten injured people were still receiving medical care. Police and the military brought both prisons under control after several hours of intervention. Authorities did not provide further details about how the riots started.

Arrest of Luisa González

Police arrested Luisa González, a former presidential candidate and leader of the Revolución Ciudadana movement, in the early hours of Thursday in Manabí province. She was detained in the 'Laberinto' case, an investigation into alleged irregular financing of her 2023 presidential campaign, and prosecutors are examining suspected money laundering. Her movement called the arrest 'arbitrary and unconstitutional' and accused the government of President Daniel Noboa of acting as a dictatorship. The events unfolded against a backdrop of heightened political and institutional tension.

Minister's link to the arrest

Interior Minister John Reimberg suggested a connection between the two events in a social media post:

“Today, the very day Luisa González was arrested, two prison riots with deaths were recorded in the country. Coincidence? Let everyone draw their own conclusions.”

Reimberg did not spell out the link he implied. He added that the government would not allow organized crime or 'its political allies' to challenge the state.

“The law is not negotiable. Order is not handed over.”

Overcrowded prisons and a new policy

Ecuador's prisons hold about 38,200 people, almost 7,000 more than they can accommodate, according to official figures. Some prisons are under military control, and drug trafficking gangs fight over them, ordering killings and extortion from inside. More than 500 inmates have been killed in prison massacres since 2021. In mid-October the government began a plan to classify prisoners by how dangerous they are, so they can be separated or transferred. The plan also includes training 52 retired military and police officers as prison guides. President Noboa intends to build a new maximum-security prison for about 15,000 inmates, which Reimberg said would be ready in roughly 15 months.