Ecuador's Encuentro prison plagued by torture claims and inmate deaths

Ecuador’s newly built maximum‑security prison Encuentro, inaugurated by President Daniel Noboa and modeled on the El Salvador facility created under President Nayib Bukele, is facing a wave of human‑rights accusations. Families report severe neglect, starvation and abuse, while a tuberculosis outbreak and lack of timely medical care have been documented. Three inmates died in May – two from TB and one from pancreatitis – prompting relatives and rights groups to demand investigations. A trans woman without a final sentence also died in custody, raising concerns about compliance with the UN’s Bangkok Rules.

Witnesses describe the prison’s remote forest location, the hermetic handling of information by authorities, and the anguish of relatives such as Verónica, who recalled, “It was as if God wanted us to see each other.” COFAVID released photographs showing emaciated prisoners being transferred to a regional jail in Guayaquil, underscoring the health crisis. Minister Nataly Morillo later confirmed the transfer but offered no further comment.

Human‑rights advocates, including Ana Morales of COFAVID, stress that “no one dies from pancreatitis from one day to the next,” attributing deaths to inadequate medical attention. The growing controversy has intensified calls for transparency and accountability at Encuentro.