"I saw my son's dead body on internet", says mother of prison riot victim in Ecuador

A mother of a prisoner killed at the Ecuador prison riots said she saw the photos of her son's dead body on social media.

A Zenaida Moreira is looking for her 23-year-old Darwin Camino. She told her son is not on the list of dead released by the prison authorities. She said her son died, and the photos are all over on social media, while the officials have not listed his name yet.

While crying, Moreira told the media that her son was a drug addict and jailed for stealing chairs. She said that despite being arrested for such a small theft, he was kept with criminals and killers.

Many families gathered outside the prison in the port city of Guayaquil after seeing photos of their loved ones' bodies on social media. The forensic labs were crowded, with people crying to get ahold of the last remains of their family members who fell victims to the heinous crime.

Many families are waiting to be informed about the well-being of their family members, serving time in the country's overcrowded prison. They have not yet received a response, and their concerns have only risen as explosions could be heard again from Guayaquil's largest prison, a sign that the gang war inside - allegedly linked to drug trafficking - has not been brought under control.

[caption id="attachment_37954" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Anxious relatives sought some respite from the sun in the shadow of a building[/caption]

Late Thursday, police said they had regained control of the prison after a major operation with 900 officers and army soldiers, resulting in a revised death toll of 118.

They had coffins ready when needed - in contrast to the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic as a shortage of coffins in Guayaquil saw some people forced to use cardboard to bury their loved ones.

The mother feared the worst after seeing videos of the murder in prison.

"I do not know if any of the bodies I saw were his. I saw a decapitated head, the face is similar to his, but the authorities say nothing," she said in tears.

Her son would call her over a phone smuggled into prison, but it has been days since she heard from him.