According to the organization, the figures coincide with reports from prison judges and the Ombudsman’s Office documenting violations of the rights to food, health, and rehabilitation in centers under military control.

The CDH recalled that, during a verification visit on April 22 to the Guayas Deprivation of Liberty Center No. 1, in the Litoral Penitentiary, they found “treatment incompatible with human dignity.” Testimonies collected by the Committee point out that similar situations are happening in the prisons of Esmeraldas and Cotopaxi, where inmates have reported being denied medical care, family visits, adequate food, and rehabilitation activities.

The organization maintained that the prison model imposed since March 2024 “has produced more deaths annually than prison massacres” and has increased cases of corruption within the Armed Forces, which are responsible for managing the facilities.

The CDH held President Daniel Noboa and the prison authorities directly responsible for what it described as “preventable deaths and inhumane conditions of detention.”

According to this group, among the factors that have turned Ecuadorian prisons into veritable “time bombs” are corruption in prison management, militarization, the presence and control of the facilities by organized crime groups, insufficient budget allocation, and other factors.

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