At least forty-three gang members executed in gruesome prison riot: Inmates take over hellish overcrowded Ecuador jail and kill their rivals with knives in bloodbath

• Police say more than 100 inmates escaped after a prison riot in Ecuador that claimed the lives of 43 others
• A total of 108 were missing after another 112 escaped prisoners were recaptured after the outbreak
• The riot broke out early on Monday as rival gangs clashed in a jail in the Ecuadorean city of Santo Domingo

More than 100 inmates escaped after a prison riot in Ecuador that claimed the lives of 43 others, a senior police official said.

A total of 108 were missing after another 112 escaped prisoners were recaptured after the outbreak at the Bellavista jail in the city of Santo Domingo, police chief Fausto Salinas told reporters.

The riot broke out early on Monday as rival gangs clashed in a jail in the Ecuadorean city, the government said, in the latest episode of prison violence that has rocked the South American country.

Authorities said the riot broke out after a gang leader was transferred to Santo Domingo’s Bellavista prison following a court order, which may have caused unrest among prisoners.

Both the interior ministry and the attorney general’s office reported that 43 prisoners had died. Most of them had been stabbed to death, Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said.

Wounded inmates are transported on a truck to an ambulance after a riot, outside the Bella Vista prison in Santo Domingo. Both the interior ministry and the attorney general’s office reported that 43 prisoners had died. Most of them had been stabbed to death, Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said.

Authorities said the riot broke out after a gang leader was transferred to Santo Domingo’s Bellavista prison following a court order, which may have caused unrest among prisoners

Relatives of inmates wait outside the Bella Vista prison after a riot, in Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Ecuador, on May 9,

Soldiers guard outside Bellavista prison where a deadly riot broke out overnight in Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Ecuador

A total of 108 were missing after another 112 escaped prisoners were recaptured after the outbreak at the Bellavista jail in the city of Santo Domingo, police chief Fausto Salinas told reporters

The riot was the latest incident of violence in Ecuadorean prisons, which the government attributes to fights between gangs over control of territory and drug trafficking routes.

Last year, 316 prisoners died during riots in various prisons across Ecuador.

Bellavista prison has now been brought back under control, police commander Fausto Salinas said, adding that a security fence was built around the jail’s perimeter after prisoners escaped.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has said the system is blighted by state abandonment and the absence of a comprehensive policy, as well as poor conditions for inmates.

The country’s prisons house 35,000 people and are overcrowded at about 15% beyond maximum capacity.

Conservative President Guillermo Lasso has promised to reduce prison violence through a gang pacification process, early release for prisoners and political and social reforms. 

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