Ecuador deports hundreds of Colombian inmates amid diplomatic tensions
The move follows Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa's 2024 announcement to reduce prison overcrowding by deporting foreign inmates.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticised the action, insisting on a joint plan to protect prisoners' rights. The Colombian Foreign Ministry reported around 450 deportations, while Ecuador's SNAI prison agency stated over 700 were in the process of being sent back.
'This action reaffirms the Ecuadoran government's commitment to internal security and public order,' SNAI said in a statement.
Deported inmates, dressed in orange uniforms, queued under Ecuadoran police and military supervision. Some, clad in shorts and t-shirts, performed exercises in the cold Andean air while chanting, 'We want to cross, we want to cross.'
Bogota filed a formal complaint, calling the unilateral deportation a breach of international law and an 'unfriendly gesture.' A Carchi governor's office source told AFP that 870 inmates, roughly 60% of Colombians in Ecuador's prisons, were slated for expulsion.
Juan Morales, an official in Ipiales, Colombia, said authorities were unprepared for the influx, as Ecuador had not notified them. However, Ecuador's foreign ministry claimed Bogota was informed on July 8.
Ipiales Mayor Amilcar Pantoja stated that prisoners without pending legal cases in Colombia would be released. Ecuador's rising violence, partly fueled by Colombian-linked drug gangs, has pushed its homicide rate from six per 100,000 in 2018 to 38 in 2024.- AFP
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