Ecuador's president extends state of emergency for prisons

FILE PHOTO: The Penitenciaria del Litoral, one of Ecuador's largest prisons, is pictured after prisoners died in a riot, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Vicente Gaibor del Pino

QUITO (Reuters) - President Guillermo Lasso renewed a state of emergency throughout Ecuador's prison system on Monday, extending it for 30 days as the country grapples to control jail violence which has left scores of inmates dead.

Lasso first imposed a state of emergency in penitentiaries at the end of September due to violence at the Penitenciaria del actions.Litoral prison, where fighting between criminal gangs in the last two months has left more than 180 prisoners dead.