Thirty dead and 47 injured, is the toll of violent clashes with firearms in a prison in southwestern Ecuador.
This was announced on Twitter by the governor of the coastal province of Guayas, citing a local police officer, Commander Fausto Buenano.
Thanks to a military and police operation, the authorities managed to regain control of the prison after five hours. "The presence of the state and the law must be felt," Governor Pablo Arosemena said at a press conference.
According to reports, the violence was caused by a clash between gangs within the prison. It is yet another episode of violence, in July President Guillermo Lasso decreed a state of emergency in Ecuadorian prisons, where more than one hundred inmates have died in recent months.
Local TVs showed chilling images of inmates shooting from windows amidst explosions and clouds of smoke.
It all started with the decision of a gang of inmates, Los Choneros, to celebrate the birthday of one of its bosses, Victor, while at the same time claiming control over the entire prison.
Something that "aroused the ire of the members of two other gangs - Los Lobos and Tiguerones - who opened fire".
(Unioneonline / L)
