Mexican drug cartels infiltrate Ecuador's prisons, controlled by crime | Video | CNN

Organized crime operates inside Ecuador's prisons where inmates obey the mafia bosses and not the authorities and, for guards to enter, they must first have authorization from the inmates, a prison agent told CNN under anonymity.

These organized crime cells that operate in Ecuador have the support of two Mexican drug cartels and, according to the authorities of the South American country, their power is equal to or greater than that of the State.