Violence in Ecuador continues: Mayor assassinated; six killed in prison gang clashes
File photo of Manta Mayor Agustin Intriago.
Violence continues in Ecuador as Manta city Mayor Agustin Intriago was assassinated on Sunday (July 23), and six inmates were killed in weekend clashes between gang members in a prison in Guayaquil city. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, Mayor Intriago, 38, was inspecting public works in Manta when he was shot dead.
Addressing a press conference, regional police commander Edwin Noguera said that a gunman got out of a stolen truck and opened fire on Intriago, hitting him and a woman who also died. Security officials with Intriago returned fire and injured the driver of the truck who is now in police custody. Noguera said that the driver was a Venezuelan national without a prior criminal record.
However, the gunman escaped, the police official added. Reuters reported that it was not immediately clear why Intriago was killed, though police said that he had reported receiving threats.
Six killed in gang clashes in prison
At least six inmates were killed and 11 others were injured in weekend clashes between gang members in the Guayas No. 1 prison in the western city of Guayaquil. In a statement, the SNAI prison authority said that following the violence, inmates in 10 prisons across Ecuador including the one where the clashes happened went on a hunger strike.
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Watch | Six killed in gang clashes in Ecuador prison, officials targeted
Due to the violence, security protocols were activated across the prison service, and security personnel are currently being held by gang members in five jails, the statement said, adding that officials appeared to be in good health and security forces were working to free them.
Ecuador has seen an uptick in violent crime that the government says is driven by power struggles between criminal gangs over the drug trafficking trade. The country has become an important transit point for cocaine moving to Europe and the United States.
Since 2021, Ecuador has suffered a string of serious prison riots which have killed hundreds of inmates.
(With inputs from agencies)
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