Transfer of dangerous prisoners is mostly a ‘publicity stunt’ ahead of national referendum, experts say

Some security experts, including former prison directors, say the transfer of 300 inmates to the new high-security prison in Santa Elena Province is part of a government public relations campaign. “This is a publicity stunt and is clearly intended to influence voters in Sunday’s referendum and consultation election,” says university professor and security expert Itania Villarreal.

According to the government, construction of the new Encuentro Prison in Santa Elena Province is 35% to 40% complete.

According to Villarreal, construction of the new Encuentro Prison is not complete. “The government admits the project is only 35% finished,” she says. “Most of the technology intended to make the facility secure is not operational and much of it has not yet been installed.”

Rafael Iglesias, a former Guayaquil prison director and private security consultant agrees with Villarreal, calling the transfer of prisoners “curious” given the construction status of Encuentro. “The prison is months away from completion and security systems within the one module that is mostly complete have not been tested,” he says. “I understand the urgency of relocating dangerous prisoners, especially in light of recent prison riots, but it is not practical to make this move until the prison is 100% complete.”

The prisoner transfers and the press coverage they have received, Iglesias says, is an attempt to “cover-up” mismanagement of the prison system that has existed for decades.

Villarreal does not deny facilities such as Encuentro are needed to house high-risk prisoners. “We must have such facilities considering the high-profile escapes and killings in other prisons,” she says. “But the timing of these transfers, coming just before the election, makes the government’s intentions very obvious.”

What is needed to gain control of the country’s prison system, Villarreal insists, is a top to bottom reorganization of the national prison authority, SNAI, and construction of more medium and low security prisons. “First, the corruption problem must be addressed,” she says. “Bribery of prison personnel is rampant and very little has been done to control it. Even with the stationing of police and soldiers at the prisons, weapons and cell phones continue to flow in.”

Just as important as controlling contraband, says Villarreal, is the need to reduce overcrowding. “We have 34,000 or 35,000 inmates crowded into facilities designed for 26,000,” she says. “Such conditions are an incubator for violence.”

Instead of PR events, Iglesias says the government should begin the “slow, methodical process” of rebuilding the system. “I don’t object to all the tough-on-crime talk — that’s politics — but behind the scenes we need trained penal experts to begin building a better, more secure, more humane prison system.”