Ecuador asks family members for photos of 116 killed in prison riots

Quito: Ecuador sought Thursday to identify the remains of the 116 prisoners killed in a riot at one of its biggest prisons ahead this week, the newest episode of violence that authorities have linked to gangs vying for its control of drug trafficking routes.

Dozens of relatives of prisoners at the Penitenciaria del Litoral in Guayaquil, the country's largest city, gathered outside a mortuary seeking information about their loved ones, after the deadliest outbreak of prison violence in history from Ecuador on Tuesday, in which 80 prisoners were also wounded.

Police investigators requested family members for pictures of detainees or details of features such as scars or tattoos to help them identify the bodies.

Police Commander Tannya Varela told reporters the death toll could rise as officers are still investigating. Earlier Thursday, the national police sent 400 deputies to regain command of the detention centre. Soldiers also invaded the prison to keep order.

"We have not yet performed the procedure in the prison, so it is possible that there are other dead bodies inside, and some of the hurt could die from their injuries," Varela told.

The violence came after 79 and 22 people died in prison tumults in February and July, sequentially. Officials have linked previous clashes to rival local gangs with links to transnational criminal groups fighting for control of drug trafficking in Ecuador.

According to Mario Pazmino, colonel and former director of intelligence for the Ecuadorian army, the clashes have intensified and become bloodier recently as Mexican drug cartels, such as the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartels, have formed groups alliances with local gangs.

Although not a large drug producer, Ecuador is a central transit hub for cocaine from neighbouring Colombia and Peru to the United States and Europe, many of which is concealed in legitimate containers departing from the port of Guayaquil, according to a US State Department report in March.

"This presence of drug trafficking translates into a permanent struggle for the routes and territory from which the drugs leave, and this is what is reproduced in the detention centers, as well as in the cities where regulations take place account and assassinations," Pazmino told.

Asked Wednesday evening whether this week's clashes were linked to drug trafficking, Fausto Cobo, director of the Ecuadorian Center for Strategic Intelligence, said the violence was "linked to other serious issues".

"It's a problem that goes beyond a problem with the retributive system," Cobo told journalists. “It is a threat upon the Ecuadorian state."

In an announcement posted on Twitter, Ecuador's chief prosecutor's department said it was still making an effort to identify the victims - at least six of whom were beheaded on Tuesday.

Prison congestion and underfunding is a significant problem across South America and has added to riots in recent years in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, as well as Ecuador. President Guillermo Lasso stated. On Wednesday, he would release funds and send additional security forces to prisons.