March 3, 2025 – A comprehensive investigation made by the Impunity Observer reveals how organized crime networked within Ecuadorian jails to take over the prison system. An exclusive insider interview also details the failure of the government’s strategy to confront organized criminals in jails.
Key Findings
- Despite military deployment to prisons to combat organized crime, criminal groups continue to dominate. These organized criminals extort fellow convicts and run a multimillion-dollar business, charging for water, food, and protection. Those unable to pay must join a gang or suffer death.
- Prison staff, law enforcement, and judicial officials remain at high risk. Criminal organizations monitor and intimidate them, exhibited by five murders of officials in the National Prison System (SNAI) in 2024. A former SNAI official, who experienced gang threats, told the Impunity Observer:
“The entire prison system is corrupt. Many officials, including high-ranking authorities, have colluded with organized criminals. Those who have not are either dead or have quit. Under current conditions, it is impossible to remove organized crime’s control over prisons.”
- Removing gang influence will require a complete institutional reset. Effective reform would include protection and higher compensation for officials plus intelligence capabilities matching those of criminal networks.
About the Impunity Observer
The Impunity Observer is a geopolitical intelligence service that connects the Americas. With rigorous investigations and policy research, the subscriber-supported outlet fosters the rule of law and economic development.
Review the full article here (in English and Spanish).
For press inquiries, contact: Joselyn Sánchez, communications intern, jsanchez@impunityobserver.com.
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