{"id":25777,"date":"2023-07-27T07:12:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T11:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=25777"},"modified":"2023-07-27T07:12:02","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T11:12:02","slug":"ecuador-police-find-dozens-of-bodies-during-jail-sweep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2023\/07\/27\/ecuador-police-find-dozens-of-bodies-during-jail-sweep\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecuador police find dozens of bodies during jail sweep"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Police and soldiers who stormed a prison in the Ecuadorean city of Guayaquil following days of unrest say they have come across dozens of bodies.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Officials said 31 inmates had been killed since Saturday, when a deadly fight erupted between rival gangs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The violence quickly spread to other jails and inmates took scores of prison guards hostage in jails across Ecuador.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Officials said 120 guards had been freed but more than a dozen are thought to still be held against their will.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How did the violence unfold?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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The wave of violence first started in El Litoral, Ecuador’s largest men’s jail, which forms part of the Guayas prison complex in the port city of Guayaquil.<\/p>\n

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The jail houses more than 5,000 inmates, many of whom are members of Ecuador’s most violent gangs, such as Los Choneros, Los Lobos, Los Tiguerones and Latin Kings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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El Litoral has been the scene of a number of recent prison fights between rival gangs, many of which have been deadly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In April, 12 inmates died in a gang-on-gang confrontation but the most deadly incident occurred in September 2021, when 119 prisoners were killed inside El Litoral.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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