QUITO, (Reuters) – Ecuadorean officials said yesterday prison riots that left 79 inmates dead last week were linked to organized transnational crime, and said the situation in its penitentiary system remained “tense.”
Last Tuesday’s riots, which left an additional 19 people wounded, were among the bloodiest incidents in the history of the Andean country’s penitentiary system and underscored the problems of overcrowding and underfunding that plagued the system.
Authorities initially attributed the riots to rivalries between local gangs. Testifying in front of the National Assembly, Interior Minister Patricio Pazmino said on Monday that those rivalries were linked to international groups disputing for control over Ecuador’s drug trade.
“We are not talking about a simple fight between criminal groups in prisons,” Pazmino said. “We are talking about a confrontation between criminal groups with international contacts over illegal markets in the country.”