What the Litoral Penitentiary is like, the most dangerous prison in Ecuador where each cell generates US$70,000 a week

So far in 2023, the police and military forces have intervened eight times in the Litoral Penitentiary, the most dangerous prison in Ecuadorwhich is located in Guayaquil. The pavilions of this prison are dominated by the most powerful criminal organizations in the country, all linked to international drug trafficking. The last search occurred last week after a bloody fight.

Since 2000, more than 468 people have died in brawls and score-settling in prisons. Ecuadormuch of them in the Litoral Penitentiary. The bloodiest massacre in that prison occurred in September 2021, when a total of 119 inmates were murdered.

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Enemy local gangs vying for control of the Litoral Penitentiary They are at the service of great drug trafficking gangs from Mexico and Colombia.

Between Wednesday and Thursday of last week, some 1,700 members of the police and the Armed Forces of Ecuador entered the Litoral Penitentiary after a brawl.

The inmates of pavilions 4 and 6, dominated by the gang Latin Kingstried to enter pavilion 5, under control of The Eagles.

According to the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, on Wednesday one prisoner was found dead and 14 injured.

The deceased was identified as Freddy Anchundia and he was hanging in his cell. According to the police, He was the leader of a gang of hitmen at the service of a larger criminal group.

In addition, that Wednesday, 5 firearms were seized, 4,179 bullets of different calibers, both for rifles and pistols; a 40 millimeter fragmentary explosive grenade; a bulletproof vest and 2,750 grams of illegal substances, probably cocaine and marijuana. Also found were 123 cell phones, 10 Internet routers, a digital scale, 4 watches, sets of handcuffs and $1,275 in cash.

The next day, Thursday, 430 bullets of different calibers, a rifle trigger mechanism, a charger and more than a kilo of substances suspected to be cocaine and marijuana were seized. They also seized 34 communication radios, 150 mobile phones and other objects such as jewelry and an Internet modem.

On this note, We tell you what the most dangerous prison in Ecuador is like.

What is the Litoral Penitentiary like?

In accordance with Insight Crimethe maximum security prisons of Ecuador have become the front line of a gang war that broke out in 2020 after the division between the once largest criminal group in the country, The Chonerosand countless former allies turned rivals, such as the Lizards, Los Lobos, Los Chone Killers and Los Tiguerones.

The Litoral Penitentiarywhose official name is Men’s Social Rehabilitation Center Number 1 of Guayaquil, It is the largest prison in Ecuador. It was inaugurated in 1958 and has 12 pavilions, which can house up to 5,000 inmates.

The prison currently has 5,631 inmates, although not all of its cells are occupied.

According to the Ecuadorian National Police, the gang Latin Kings dominates pavilions 4, 6 and 11. While The Tiguerones pavilion 1, The Eagles pavilions 3 and 5, The Fatals pavilion 12, The Wolves Pavilion 9 and Goblin Mafia Pavilion 10. Pavilions 2, 8 and 7 are unoccupied.

Since 2011, when the leader of The Chonerosthe gangs of Ecuador They became powerful prison gangs at the service of drug trafficking. In prison they began to accumulate large arsenals, says Insight Crime.

Not only that, These gangs have a lucrative drug micromarketing business in prisons.

On August 9, 2023 he was murdered

Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot when leaving a rally in the north of Quito. One of the hitmen who participated in the crime died that day, he was Colombian. While 6 other Colombians arrested for the murder were found dead in prison months later.

According to the Ecuadorian portal First fruitsbased on information from the National Police of Ecuador and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), Each wing of the Litoral Penitentiary can generate up to $70,000 a week from drug sales.

Thus, the microtraffic drug crime is the most profitable crime in the Litoral Penitentiary and other prisons Ecuador.

So, says Primicias, the heads of criminal organizations seek to extend their control in that prison and attack other pavilions in order to expand their illicit economies.

Another way that criminal organizations have to raise money is through extortion of the families of the prisoners themselves.

“The families report that they deposit payment for extortion into accounts at the same bank every month,” said Fernando Bastías, a member of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDH)cited by Primicias.

What happens in Ecuador’s prisons?

Ecuador has a total of 65 prisons, which house more than 39,000 people. The real capacity of all of them is for 30,000 inmates, according to official figures. A third of all prisoners have some type of link with the drug trafficking.

Of the total number of detainees, 50% have no sentence, according to a report by the AFP agency.

Some 1,500 troops are in charge of the security of all the country’s prisons; Experts consider that another 3,000 are needed. In some of the main prisons there is barely one guard for every 100 prisoners, indicates AFP.

In the last six years, the number of inmates has grown by 30%, coinciding with the increase in crime in Ecuador, a country that was considered peaceful and which last year recorded more than 25 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Experts estimate that the homicide rate in 2023 will exceed 40 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Mexican cartels of Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación,

They are enemies, they have a strong presence in Ecuador. In addition, powerful local gangs, well armed and with numerous members, are at your service.

Prisons have become “central criminal commands” of criminal gangsfrom where orders are given to those who commit crimes on the streets of the country, experts indicate.

AFP maintains that for international drug trafficking Ecuador It is “strategic” because of its dollarized economy, because it has five seaports for the export of drugs, due to corruption and the infiltration of organized crime in the security systems, justice, the penitentiary system and politics.

“A neglected prison system, without adequate policy, […] “It has allowed those deprived of liberty to have self-government over time,” the Ecuadorian security analyst and retired police colonel told Insight Crime in September. Max Campos. “The security institutions […] “They are not currently in a position to face a complex problem such as organized crime,” he added.

“There must be greater scrutiny in prisons. How are heavy caliber weapons allowed to enter those places?”questioned Will Freeman, a member of the American Council on Foreign Relations. “It also appears that judges and prosecutors are succumbing to corruption or pressure in increasing numbers, judging by the releases of captured gang leaders.”