Ecuadorian police forces regained control of a prison in the southwestern part of the country on Thursday evening, which had witnessed clashes among inmates earlier in the week, resulting in the deaths of around 120 inmates. Security authorities in Ecuador reported that police had reinstated control over the "Guayaquil" prison, where gunfire erupted among prisoners last Tuesday, leading to the death of 118 individuals and injuring dozens more.
Police Chief General Tania Varellla told reporters following a large-scale security operation involving around 900 police officers that "everything is calm... the inmates are in their cells, and they no longer control the cell complex," according to AFP.
Judicial authorities announced on Thursday evening that the armed confrontations that broke out between rival gangs of inmates in the prison complex resulted in the deaths of 118 inmates, including six who were decapitated, and injured 86 others. The clashes began last Tuesday and involved firearms and hand grenades between inmates believed to be linked to Mexican drug trafficking gangs, particularly the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to AFP.
The police indicated that two of their officers were injured during the operation to regain control of the prison. While police were executing their security operation inside the prison walls, units of the army, reinforced with armored vehicles, surrounded the facility from outside as hundreds of inmates' family members waited anxiously to hear news about their incarcerated relatives.
