With weapons and tanks, soldiers are already touring the pavilions, patios and rooftops of the Litoral Penitentiary to try to stop confrontations

One thousand soldiers, 500 from the National Police and 500 from the Armed Forces of Ecuador, entered the Guayas No.1 Center for the Deprivation of Liberty early on Monday, better known as the Litoral Penitentiary, with the purpose of assuming control of the facilities indefinitely.

This, after the incidents recorded between Friday night and Saturday morning, in which 62 prisoners were killed and at least 44 were injured.

This intervention with the military from the three branches of the Armed Forces occurred amid discrepancies between the Executive and the Constitutional Court, which ruled that military action should be limited only “to the outer perimeter, including the first filter of entry.”

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For his part, President Guillermo Lasso has insisted that the Armed Forces are required to regain control of the prison system.

And this Monday’s operation began with the presence of Alexandra Vela, Minister of Government; Tannya Varela, general commander of the Police; representatives of the National Service for Comprehensive Attention to Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI), among other government entities.

Meanwhile, in the outside families of inmates were looking for information about their relatives and several demanded that the processes of release of those who have already served their sentences be expedited.

At the main entrance, the military went to the first filter to check the people who entered.

During the morning the entry of police patrols was a constant in the jail.

Likewise, a truck with military personnel was parked at the main entrance. Others were inside the center.

After 12:00, an ambulance from the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) accessed the prison complex and a vehicle from the food provider under police monitoring.

At 5:30 p.m., at least a dozen military personnel were guarding the exterior of the Litoral Penitentiary.

Likewise, police personnel roamed areas near this Guayaquil prison.

Around 4:00 p.m., the relief of the guard of the soldiers who had entered the prison in the morning took place.

Relatives of inmates, with ballot in hand, asked for the release of their relatives. This was the case of María Sosa, whose brother José is being held in ward 11.

“The electronic ballot came to me at 10:50 and I brought the manual ballot at three in the afternoon, and they don’t tell me anything. The sentence was fulfilled yesterday (Sunday 14) ”, said Sosa. His brother has been held there for 26 months.

Photographs and videos disseminated by government entities showed that the military went through pavilions, patios, rooftops, among other areas of this prison located on the road to Daule, in the north of Guayaquil.

“The operation will make it possible to impose the presence of the State in this scenario indefinitely. This operation was carried out with all security parameters and in strict compliance with current legal regulations, safeguarding the human rights of inmates, “said the General Secretariat for Communication of the Presidency, through a statement released during the afternoon of this Sunday 15.

According to the Government, these confrontations are produced by the dispute between criminal gangs related to drug trafficking that seek to seize pavilions whose leaders have recovered their freedom.

This Monday’s operation included the use of tanks. Pavilion 2 and the transitory area of ​​the Litoral Penitentiary, which were the scenes of the massacre this weekend, were mainly intervened.

Guillermo Lasso, after a meeting with State authorities, announces the permanent admission of the military to the Litoral Penitentiary

Inmates from ward 3 attacked those from 2; while those deprived of liberty in pavilions 7, 8 and 9 attacked the detainees in the transitory area, as mentioned by the government authorities.

This recent event has caused pain and indignation among the families of the mortal victims, who are even thinking of taking action against the State.

So far in 2021 there have been at least seven incidents or clashes between inmates that have resulted in massacres in the Penitentiary. And among all the prisons nationwide, the troubles between gangs have caused the death of 300 prisoners. (I)