Behind Bars, Beyond Control: The Fall of Ecuador’s Prisons and the Rise of Its Mafias
Inside the failing prison system that shaped Ecuador’s security crisis
The crisis in Ecuador’s prisons has escaped the confines of the penitentiary system to sow violence, corruption, and chaos around the country. The political assassinations, terrorist-style attacks, corruption scandals, and gruesome displays of brutality that have rocked Ecuador and shocked the region over the last five years can all, in one way or another be traced back to the prisons and the mafias that have evolved within them.
But how did a failing prison system bring an entire country to its knees?
Explore the series
Visual Stories
The PDF Report
Read InSight Crime’s full study of Ecuador’s prisons, featuring an in-depth exploration of how the system collapsed and of the criminal groups and economies that emerged from within.
Criminal Profiles
Credits:
Written by: James Bargent
Investigation: James Bargent, Karol Noroña, Mathew Charles
Edited by: Steven Dudley, María Fernanda Ramírez
Additional reporting: Gavin Voss, Anastasia Austin, María Fernanda Ramírez
Fact-checking: Gavin Voss, Lynn Pies
Creative direction: Elisa Roldán Restrepo, Juan José Restrepo
PDF layout: Ana Isabel Rico
Graphics: Juan José Restrepo, Christopher Newton
Visuals and 3D:
Juan José Restrepo and Daniel Reyes
Social Media: Camila Aristizábal, Paula Rojas
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