2023-09-06 05:20:30
Almost 60 security officials were taken hostage by the convicts in this Cuenca jail. Image: AFP via Getty Images
Criminal structures use prisons as operations centers to organize and sow terror in society. The authorities can do little to stop the incarcerated, experts explain to DW.
A group of convicts from a prison in Cuenca, in southern Ecuador, took 50 guards and seven policemen hostage last Thursday (08.31.2023), in a new riot that highlights the extreme control that criminal gangs exercise over prisons in the Andean country, which is experiencing unprecedented levels of violence.
The overwhelmed National Service for Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI), which is in charge of 36 prisons throughout the country, reported the following day that the hostages had been released.
“The epicenter of crime”
Ecuador, a country that was previously considered calm, has been suffering an escalation of violence for several years, particularly due to the presence of criminal gangs allied with Mexican and Colombian cartels, who use prisons as operations centers, from where they organize acts that sow terror. in the country.
According to a report by the Ecuadorian National Police, the country went from 5.8 to 25.32 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in five years in 2022, the highest number in its history.
“Prisons have become the epicenter of crime. From there, the most striking criminal actions are activated and planned,” Daniel Pontón, a professor at the School of Security and Defense of the Institute of Higher National Studies (IAEN) in Ecuador, told DW.
The SNAI is considering two hypotheses for the recent revolt of the prisoners: a rejection by the incarcerated of the transfer of inmates to high-security prisons, or the intention of intimidating the authorities to stop the controls of the cells, where the inmates hide weapons, drugs and cash.
A murder that changed politics
The assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, as well as that of other politicians and mayors this year, has had a very strong impact on politics: “From the assassination, the electoral public agenda was militarized, because not only was The issue of security is flat, but also that of a strong hand,” Fernando Carrión, a security specialist and FLACSO academic, explained to DW.
«Within this logic of who offers a stronger hand, the eight candidates presented themselves with bulletproof vests, with helmets and protective blankets; the violence changed the politics of Ecuador,” he added.
When the authorities control the cells, they find weapons, cash and drugs. Image: Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo/picture alliance
The expansion of organized crime in prisons
Likewise, Carrión points out that criminal structures have expanded their level of organization and control of prisons: “In February 2021, the first major riot took place. This happened in four prisons, in three different provinces and at the same time, which demonstrated the preparation they had, “he recalled.
«On July 28, 29, and 30, there were no longer four prisons, but 13. There were no longer three provinces, there were seven. It was no longer just one day, but almost four. This shows us that these criminal structures have very strong control of the prisons, to the extent that one could say that these are managed by these groups,” he added.
A new government would mean no change
Experts are not very optimistic about what the future holds for the country. The Ecuadorian president, the conservative Guillermo Lasso, has already declared several unsuccessful states of exception during his government.
The winner of the second round between the candidates for the presidency, Luisa González, from Correísmo, and Daniel Noboa, from the Acción Democrática Nacional coalition, will govern for only a year and a half (time when the Lasso administration initially ended), for which will not be able to make profound changes: «Ecuador cannot face crime with the norms or institutional frameworks that we have. A series of institutional transformations must be made, which I do not see on the agenda, ”Pontón reflected.
«In the short term, the government that comes has to have a direct intervention in the prison. A fairly manageable security scheme cannot be maintained. It takes a lot of fortitude and leadership, “he stressed.
Public-private agreements
For his part, Carrión proposes something similar. Develop a strategy to deal with the problem and “restructure the institutional framework of the public sector.” But in addition, he suggests that there be, “in whatever way, public-private cooperation agreements.” On this last point, the expert calculates that the collaboration of police, members of the Armed Forces and guards from the private sector could increase the pressure on criminal gangs.
Another of his ideas is to create a national-local cooperation, so that municipalities can also enter into the logic of prevention and assume responsibility for acts of violence. And finally, he proposes developing a national-global cooperation to dismantle the groups that are part of a global crime network. (ers)
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