Ecuador to Use Military, Mediation to End Prison Violence

A casket is carried by a pickup truck as people gather outside the judicial police station after prisoners were killed and injured at the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Nov. 14, 2021. Santiago Arcos/Reuters

QUITO—Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso on Monday announced a plan to pacify prisons including with involvement of the military, as part of steps to tackle a wave of violence which has left scores of prisoners dead.

Fighting between criminal groups in the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison over the weekend killed up to 68 prisoners and injured 25, according to the government.