Ecuador arrests 9 prison staff after search finds drugs, weapons in offices

Ecuador’s security forces stand guard next to relatives of inmates while they wait for news about their loved ones outside the prison in Guayaquil, after Ecuador’s government on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, declared a 60-day state of emergency throughout the country’s prisons and authorized armed forces to retake control of jails, following a wave of violence that left 18 dead over the weekend, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. REUTERS/Vicente Gaibor del Pino/File Photo

QUITO — Banned drugs and weapons were found in offices at Ecuadorean prisons on Friday, prompting the arrests of two wardens and seven other staff members, the country’s prosecutor said.

A wave of violence swept prisons in late July, and at least 31 people died in a conflict between criminal gangs inside a penitentiary in Guayaquil.

President Guillermo Lasso declared a 60-day state of emergency on July 25.

Ecuadorean security forces on Friday inspected two prisons in Guayaquil including the Penitenciaria del Litoral, one of the country’s most dangerous.

The prosecutor’s office posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the search found drugs, firearms, explosives and ammunition in the offices. Police arrested two wardens, five administrative officials and two other prison staff on drug charges.

The SNAI prison agency said “a series of prohibited objects” had been found inside.

READ: Ecuador prison tensions soar as four inmates found ‘hanged’

The government attributes prison violence to infighting among criminal groups for control inside prisons and for drug trafficking routes on the outside.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has said that violence reflects overcrowding, budget cuts and civil rights violations.

READ: Ecuador: A new nerve center for global drug trade