Ecuador to build 15,000‑inmate megaprison with work programs

Interior Minister John Reimberg announced that Ecuador will construct a new megaprison with capacity for about 15,120 inmates, slated to be completed in 19 months. The facility will include large work‑area sheds where prisoners will be required to work, a measure the minister said will help cover the cost of incarceration. “No tenemos por qué costear, pagar, la vida de estos criminales en las cárceles. Ellos tienen que trabajar para generar lo que nos cuesta tenerlos en las cárceles y un poco más,” he told radio WQ.

The project, initiated by President Daniel Noboa, is modeled on the prison system introduced by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. It follows criticism of the existing Cárcel del Encuentro, which holds about 800 prisoners and lacks work programmes. Among those currently held are criminal gang leaders and politicians such as Guayaquil mayor Aquiles Alvarez and former vice‑president Jorge Glas.

The announcement also noted the recent capture of Los Choneros leader Ronald Javier Macías Villamar in Bogotá, a joint operation by Ecuadorian and Colombian police. With an active Interpol red notice, Reimberg said his extradition to the United States for alleged drug‑trafficking charges will be expedited.