Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced Monday the transfer of 300 high-risk inmates to the new “Cárcel del Encuentro” in Santa Elena, part of a broader crackdown on organized crime.
Noboa shared a photo showing the prisoners with shaved heads, writing: “Ya empezarán con la quejadera” (“Now they’ll start complaining”). The image echoed El Salvador’s Bukele-style prison tactics.
Interior Minister John Reimberg said the move ends years of criminal control inside prisons. “The party is over,” he declared.
The $52 million maximum-security facility, located in a remote area of southern Santa Elena, is designed to prevent gang operations and restore state authority over Ecuador’s prison system.