2024-03-02 13:10:14
The scene has been repeated every day for more than a month. In front of the barriers which prohibit entry to the Littoral penitentiary center, about fifteen kilometers north of Guayaquil, dozens of families of prisoners gathered, calling out to the mute and hooded soldiers. They ask for news of their incarcerated loved ones. Some even brought food and blankets to better lay siege to the blue and dilapidated walls of the ancient prison. Without winning the case.
Prison, at the heart of the Ecuadorian crisis
The 36 prisons scattered across Ecuadorian territory and their approximately 30,000 inmates are at the heart of the episode of violence which shook the small Andean country at the beginning of the year. On January 7, Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito”, leader of the powerful Choneros gang, escaped from the Guayaquil regional prison, one of the most secure in the country. President Daniel Noboa then declared the country in a situation of “internal armed conflict”. “With this decision, he allowed the armed forces to take direct control of prisons, instead of prison authorities”recalls Billy Navarrete, director of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights of Guayaquil (CDH).
On February 9, soldiers stormed the Littoral penitentiary center, reputed to be one of the most sensitive in the country. A recovery deemed necessary by the political authorities as well as by civil society as Ecuadorian prisons had become a command center for drug trafficking. Alberto (1), an employee of Snai, the Ecuadorian prison authority, recounts how the state abandoned control of prisons at the end of the last decade: “The budget allocated to the prison system has crumbled and the management of the wards has fallen into the hands of criminal gangs. When there was a problem, the prison director met with the gang leaders to set the rules of the game.” Billy Navarrete also agrees: “There was a kind of mafia peace that consisted of saying to the gangs: ‘You manage what happens inside and, if there is a death, it’s not our problem.’ »
Bukele method
At the Littoral penitentiary center, soldiers took over the entire prison, searching every corner of the cells and forcing inmates to group together and undress in a style reminiscent of President Bukele’s method in El Salvador. Since then, the families of detainees have had no news of their loved ones. Standing with her arms crossed in front of the barriers, Marcela no longer even has the strength to ask the soldiers for information. “I’ve been coming here every three days for a month and they don’t tell me anythingexclaims the mother whose 21-year-old son is incarcerated. I don’t even know if he’s still alive. »
Marcela’s concern is fueled by dozens of photos of physical violence to which detainees are victims and which are circulating on messaging services. Ana Morales, spokesperson for the Families Committee for Prison Justice, grabs her phone. On the screen, skinned shoulders, lacerated backs and purplish ribs parade by dozens. “These are the images we receive from families when their imprisoned loved one manages to obtain a cell phone,” she comments.
Families of detainees and human rights defenders denounce the opacity of a military intervention which they nevertheless considered necessary. “Let the prisoners serve their sentence, okay, but physical violence, mistreatment, that will not make them better”blurted Marcela. “The army displays incredible violenceadds Ana Morales. We do not know if the injured are treated, if the sick have access to their medicines. This is unacceptable. » At the Littoral penitentiary center, visits have been suspended for the next six months.
Militarization, ineffective in the long term?
In the meantime, the strong approach put in place by President Noboa seems to be bearing fruit. In the lodges, the gangs no longer rule the roost, as Ana Morales assures: “The families are also relieved because now all the detainees are in the same boat. There is no more extortion. » Outside the prisons, relative calm has also returned, thanks to an increased military presence in the streets of the city, but also to the recovery of control of the penitentiary centers. “The actions of the gangs were coordinated from the prisons”, assures Alberto. Breaking the power of the leaders then amounts to “disorganize the chain of command externally”he explains.
The militarization of prisons, however, raises the question of the sustainability and effectiveness of such a strategy. Alberto assures that total control by the military only concerns some of the country’s prisons: “At the Littoral, the army has taken control of the pavilions but in other prisons, the soldiers only stay at the entrance. » The Snai employee wonders: “As long as the military is present, order will be restored, but what will happen when the emergency regime is over and they have to leave? » According to the official, the security response as it materializes is more than one ” communication campaign “ vis-à-vis public opinion severely impacted by the events of last month.
Despite the criticism, President Noboa wants to deepen his security response. At the beginning of January, the head of state announced the construction of two mega-prisons modeled on the infrastructure built in El Salvador on the orders of Nayib Bukele. He also said that three prison boats will be deployed by “seven to eight months”. A strategy that could turn into a time bomb, according to Billy Navarrete: “Taking control of the prisons was certainly necessary, but it will remain ineffective if it is not accompanied by vigorous social work. These prisons could become real pressure cookers. »
(1) He wished to remain anonymous for security reasons.
——
Prisons in Ecuador, problem or solution?
According to the latest census, dating from 2022, Ecuador has 36 prisons, housing 31,300 inmates, for a country of 18.3 million inhabitants.
According to the specialized database World Prison Brief, it is the country with the fewest prisoners per capita in South America.
Ecuadorian prisons, as is often the case in the region, are known to be recruitment centers for organized crime, in any case before they are taken over. They are also regularly the site of clashes between rival gangs: since 2021, more than 460 inmates have died violently behind bars.
#Ecuador #prisons #real #pressure #cookers