Drug war in Ecuador: they attacked a prison with drones

Ecuadorian prison authorities confirmed that early on Monday the regional prison, located in Guayaquil, was attacked by drones. The three explosions are said to be part of an attack directed against gang leaders linked to international cartels. who are in this prison.

The Guayas Regional Rehabilitation Center 4 it is located a few steps from the Litoral Penitentiary, one of the prisons where several violent events have occurred this year. According to authorities’ reports, When the explosions started, inmates from Guayas Regional 4 and the penitentiary climbed onto the roofs of the pavilions and began firing at the drones to destroy them.

The director of the National Comprehensive Care Service, the military colonel in passive service Fausto Cobo, indicated that it is suspected that the attack was directed against the maximum security lodge, where the leaders of the criminal gangs are being held. It would be, said Cobo, an “account” between gangs and cartels.

At the regional prison of Guayas, the head of The Choneros, one of the oldest gangs in Ecuador, its members can be found in almost all Ecuadorian prisons and operate from different cities. This gang is dedicated to micro-trafficking, hired killers, extortion and smuggling. In addition, he is linked to the Sinaloa cartel.

Also the Los Pipos, Los Lobos, Los Chone Killers, Los Tiguerones gangs, were grouped together under the name of New generation. This group maintains a fight with Los Choneros. The reason for the fighting would be control of the channels through which drug trafficking sends drugs to the United States and European countries. The Nueva Generación gang responds to the Mexican cartel in Jalisco.

In its official social networks, the National Comprehensive Attention Service confirmed the attack. In one of the institution’s tweets, it is read that what happened in prison “It’s serious, we are in the middle of a war between INTERNATIONAL CARTELS” (sic.).

During the attacks, the drones dropped explosives which destroyed the ceilings of some cells. Lieutenant Colonel Santiago Jácome, head of the prison emergency unit, said that as soon as the security forces alerted to the presence of the drones, they deployed the device and acted according to a protocol prepared for this type of attack. National police said there were no deaths or injuries.

A military source from the Armed Forces of Ecuador explained to Infobae that probably, the drones had additional devices installed that allowed them to carry the explosives. He assured that for an attack like the one that occurred, sophisticated drones are not needed, but the installation of modules in conventional drones is enough so that different elements can be transported.

An investigation involving the military showed that modified drones could be used to transport medicine or food. However, in prisons they are occupied for illegal purposes.

The National Comprehensive Care Service has confirmed that This is not the first time that there have been incidents with drones. In August of this year, in Cotopaxi prison, in the Ecuadorian highlands, uA drone that flew over the prison dropped drug packages in the prison yard. According to official information, until July 2021 there were eight cases of drone overflights introduce drugs into regional prisons in four provinces.

Last June, a drone flew over the Litoral penitentiary at dawn. The aircraft went to the minimum and maximum security lodges. However, the device crashed into a wall and was destroyed.

Despite these facts, the prisons where the overflights took place do not have an anti-drone system, which makes it possible to destroy these devices when they enter the penitentiary perimeters.

The use of drones for illegal purposes is not new. Ecuadorian police authorities have explained that the gangs have copied this mechanism from other countries such as Colombia.. For example, in March 2021, in a Colombian prison, security officers reported that a drone dropped a package containing drugs, weapons and cellphones from the air. Also in May, Chilean gendarmes prevented two drones from smuggling marijuana, cocaine, base paste and methamphetamine into a penitentiary in that country.

This attack is in addition to events that increase the Ecuadorian prison crisis that until now this year already left a balance of more than 120 deceased prisoners and hundreds of other injured prisoners. The crisis, in addition to the struggles between gangs linked to drug trafficking, is caused by overcrowding which reaches 30% and the lack of prison officers who can guarantee control in the prisons.

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