Ecuador Gangs Target Prison Chiefs to Regain Control

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The murder of the head of Ecuador’s largest men’s prison appears to be the latest act of violence by prison gangs in their ongoing attempt to reestablish control over the penitentiary system.

On the night of September 12, armed men fatally shot María Daniela Icaza, director of the Litoral Penitentiary in eastern Guayaquil, the country’s largest men’s prison and the site of some of the most harrowing massacres that have shaken Ecuador in recent years.

Icaza was en route from the prison to Guasmo Sur Hospital, about 17 kilometers away, when hitmen intercepted her vehicle. Another prison official traveling with her was injured in the attack.

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The incident occurred just nine days after the director of the Sucumbíos prison was killed in the municipality of Lago Agrio, and five months after El Rodeo’s prison director was shot in the head outside a restaurant in San Lorenzo de Jipijapa. These targeted killings of prison directors have taken place amid President Daniel Noboa’s tough-on-crime policies, which aim to curb violence in Ecuador’s prisons.

InSight Crime Analysis Ecuador’s prison gangs appear to be making moves to reassert their control over the penitentiary system, while the Ecuadorian government’s security strategy continues to fall short beyond the militarization of prisons.

Although deploying military personnel to suppress prison riots and prevent massacres was meant to be temporary, prison security expert Melania Carrión told InSight Crime that the government’s failure to address deeper systemic issues shows a lack of a clear medium- or long-term strategies to reduce prison violence.

SEE ALSO: Ecuadorians Back President’s Security Agenda But Challenges Await

Historically, efforts to increase prison capacity and impose emergency decrees have failed to weaken the grip of prison gangs. The recent murders of prison directors and a series of violent acts, including drone attacks, massacres, and targeted killings inside prisons, underscores that violence remains the gangs’ primary tool of control.

Prison gangs have traditionally exerted their influence through corruption networks that benefited all involved, including police, prison guards, and even administrative officials.

As Carrión explained, Ecuador lacks a coordinated effort to purge the penitentiary system and bring about meaningful reform. The continued over-reliance on military personnel within the prisons has, in fact, provided an opportunity for gangs to infiltrate security forces at all levels.

“What you’re going to see is, just like with the police, the same levels of corruption that already exist,” Carrión added.

Moreover, several analysts, including Carrión, have expressed concern about the inadequate conditions and lack of training for security forces, leaving them ill-equipped to confront both prison gangs and organized crime in general.

Featured image: A police agent inspects María Daniela Icaza’s car, after her murder in Guayaquil. Credit: MARCOS PIN / AFP

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Ecuador Gangs Target Prison Chiefs to Regain Control

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