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Ecuador raises death toll from prison riots to 79, says situation controlled

25 February 2021 00:51 (UTC +04:00)

Ecuador on Wednesday raised the death toll from riots in four jails to 79, and said authorities had regained control following one of the bloodiest outbreaks of prison violence in its history, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Police and troops were stationed at detention centers in the cities of Guayaquil, Cuenca and Latacunga, where gangs on Tuesday fought one another with handmade weapons in what authorities said was a coordinated outbreak of violence.

The gangs began a battle for leadership within the prison system in December when a leader of Los Choneros, considered the system’s most powerful gang, was killed in a shopping center several months after being released.