Penitentiary pacification commission visited the Latacunga prison

Members of the Penitentiary Dialogue and Pacification Commission and government authorities toured the Cotopaxi deprivation of liberty center, located in Latacunga, as part of the work that the group will carry out to assess the situation in the prisons.

The visit took place this Monday, within the framework of Executive Decree 294 of December 16, through which the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, gave way to the creation of the Commission, which is made up of nine national and foreign experts from from civil society, churches, academia and the public sector: Luis Barrios, Nelsa Cubero, Miriam Delgado, Claudia Garzón, Mónica Ingarévalo, Francisco Loor, Alfredo Narváez, Ricardo Morales, and Christian Nieto.

During the tour, the delegates observed the workshops carried out by the persons deprived of liberty (PPL) in handicrafts, painting, sewing, education, handicrafts and the production of a radio program.

Likewise, several PPLs were interviewed, as well as the leaders of criminal organizations, in order to reach understandings for a pacification process in prisons.

Claudia Garzón, director of the Criminal Analysis Unit in Colombia, was present at the visit to Latacunga. He stated that intervention in prisons requires humanization and replication of successful experiences from other countries.

“Violence has become normalized, then, prisons become an X-ray of society. We need to work with various institutions, we are all jointly responsible for prison security, ”Garzón said, through a video shared by the Ministry of Government.

Another of the delegates who attended was Christian Nieto, representative of the Ombudsman’s Office, who pointed out that in the conversations with the inmates, they seek to reach an agreement so that they hand over their weapons in a peaceful manner and coexist without conflict.

“From the first day of the signing of the decree, we have visited some prisons, we have talked with some gang leaders, they are willing to talk with civil society. We hope that soon we will have an answer about what we are doing. We have the fundamental commitment to pacify the prisons ”, emphasized Nieto.

On the part of the Government, the Vice Minister of the Interior, Max Campos, mentioned that the objective is to find mechanisms and strategies that guide calm in prisons. He recalled that last week the experts attended the Zonal 8 Deprivation of Liberty Center, known as the Regional prison.

“We are confident that this Commission can shed light on the Government, through a report on the inside of the prisons and outside of them. This Commission is currently in dialogue with the different leaders of the criminal organizations in the centers, ”Campos reported.

The nine experts will have six months of work in the detention centers. At the end of the term, the group will deliver a report to the Executive with observations and recommendations for the proper functioning and management of the country’s prisons. (I)