Eight Inmates Killed In Two Prison Riots In Ecuador

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 23 (NNN-dpa) -- Eight inmates have been killed and 10 others injured in two prison riots in Ecuador, German Press Agency (dpa) reported, citing the country's SNAI prison authority late Thursday.

The injured were receiving medical treatment, the agency said in a statement.

Four inmates died at Cotopaxi No 1 prison and another four at Pichincha No 1 detention centre, both located in the central highlands of the South American country.

The authority did not provide details on what triggered the unrest.

Suspected participants in the riots have been identified and will be transferred to the El Encuentro maximum-security prison in the coastal province of Santa Elena, the agency said.

Interior Minister John Reimberg suggested a possible link between the riots and the arrest of former presidential candidate Luisa González, although he offered no evidence to support the claim.

"Today, on the very day that Luisa González ... was detained, two prison riots are recorded in the country's jails, with fatalities. Coincidence? Let each person draw their own conclusions," Reimberg wrote on X.

He did not elaborate on the alleged connection but warned that the government would not allow "organised crime or its political allies" to challenge the state.

"The law is not negotiable. Order will not be surrendered," he said.

Ecuador has experienced repeated outbreaks of deadly prison violence in recent years. Its prisons are frequently overcrowded and controlled by rival criminal gangs.

--NNN-dpa