An ambulance leaves the Guayas 1 prison in the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, July 25, 2023. /CFP
An ambulance leaves the Guayas 1 prison in the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, July 25, 2023. /CFP
The death toll from weekend rioting at a prison in Ecuador's port city of Guayaquil has climbed to 31, the public prosecutor's office said, updating an earlier death toll from 18, AFP reported on Wednesday.
The government, via its communications secretariat Segcom, said "total control" had been regained at Guayas 1, which houses over 5,600 inmates. Officers seized nine rifles, a grenade launcher, four pistols, two revolvers and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, according to officials.
The public prosecutor's office on Tuesday announced the opening of a murder investigation over the deaths as well as a terrorism probe, due to the "explosions and the quantity of weapons and ammunition found inside the prison."
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announced earlier that the security forces had taken control of the prison in keeping with his declaration of a 60-day state of emergency at all 36 prisons nationwide.
The decree took effect Tuesday in a bid to head off rioting at other facilities.
(With input from agencies)