2023-07-27 23:54:00
(CNN) — At least 11 “complete corpses” and dozens of body parts, including human heads, were recovered Wednesday from a major prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, following days of deadly clashes at the penitentiary.
The remains were removed from the Guayaquil Litoral Penitentiary, where violence broke out on Saturday.
At least 31 people have died, according to a tweet from the Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday. However, Ecuador’s National Forensic Service warned that the official number of fatalities has not yet been fully determined, as many body parts have yet to be identified.
Some of the victims appeared to have been decapitated, Ecuador’s National Forensic Service told CNN en Español on Wednesday.
CNN has contacted various government officials for updates or clarification on the number of deaths, with no response so far.
Relatives of inmates at a prison in Ecuador learn of deadly clashes in Guayaquil on Tuesday, where dozens of human remains were recovered. (Credit: César Muñoz/AP)
Ecuador’s prison system has long been the main scene of violence in the country, with hundreds of inmates killed in recent years in clashes between members of rival criminal organizations.
According to Ecuadorian authorities, security forces have often struggled with gangs operating in overcrowded prisons, where inmates often take control and run criminal networks from behind bars.
On Tuesday, Ecuador’s prison service announced that it had successfully carried out an operation to extract prison guards held hostage by inmates, leading to the release of at least 106 guards in five different prisons.
“Our action continues…”, added the prison authority on Twitter.
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso also signed a decree declaring a state of emergency throughout the country’s prison system for the next 60 days.
In the last two years, Lasso has appointed five different directors of the prison service, but none have succeeded in reducing violence.
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