Fight in Ecuador’s Bellavista jail kills 13

• Brawl between two prison gangs leaves at least 13 inmates dead.
• Inmates from the R7 and Turi gangs are thought to have been involved.
• 44 inmates died earlier this year in a similar brawl.

Officials in Ecuador report that a brawl between two prison gangs in Bellavista jail left at least 13 prisoners dead and two others injured.

The tragic altercation started only two months after a conflict at the same jail in the city of Santo Domingo resulted in the deaths of 44 inmates.

According to the authorities, Bellavista jail is once again entirely under their authority.

Since February 2021, there has been an increase in prison violence, resulting in the deaths of almost 400 prisoners during violent gang wars fought within.

13 bodies have been found, according to Interior Minister Carrillo, after the most recent fatal episode at Bellavista jail.

“It is likely that in the cell-by-cell search, more bodies will appear, but we don’t know for sure,” Mr Carrillo added.

Although the gang primarily deals in extortion and drugs, R7 members are thought to have been responsible for a violent brawl that occurred in Bellavista prison earlier this year and another that occurred in Turi jail in April.

According to Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo, the administration is addressing “structural problems” and taking “the necessary measures” to strengthen the jail system. This includes training more than 1,000 guards.

In recent years, gang violence has increased in Ecuador.

The nation, which is situated between the two biggest manufacturers of cocaine, Colombia and Peru, has emerged as a crucial transit point for drugs being transported from Latin America to the US.

Local gangs have copied the grisly tactics used by Mexican cartels, like as beheading and dismembering victims, and have increasingly been infiltrated by or allied with strong global crime syndicates.

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