John Reimberg Explains José Serrano’s Conditions in Ecuador’s Encuentro Prison

José Serrano is being held alone in a cell at Ecuador’s maximum-security Encuentro prison, Interior Minister John Reimberg said in comments to radio I99. Reimberg also rejected claims that the former minister’s life was at risk inside the facility.

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He is in a cell, alone.

Serrano, a former interior minister under President Rafael Correa, arrived at the prison in Santa Elena after Ecuador deported him from the United States on August 28. He is subject to a judicial order for pretrial detention in the Magnicidio FV case, which investigates the killing of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

President Daniel Noboa published images showing Serrano in prison clothing with a shaved head after earlier images showed him handcuffed and chained during his deportation and arrival in Ecuador. Reimberg said U.S. authorities had stated that Serrano had links to drug-trafficking cartels. He also accused Serrano of having “greatly harmed the country” and said those who had harmed Ecuador would face consequences.

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Everyone says the same thing, just so they don’t have to come to Encuentro prison.

Serrano’s family is challenging the detention. His daughter, Verónica Serrano, asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to grant urgent precautionary measures in her father’s favor. In a post on X dated August 31, she described his detention since August 28 as “illegal and arbitrary” and sought intervention from national and international human-rights organizations.

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greatly harmed the country

She also called for a national monitoring mission and filed a habeas corpus petition, seeking his release. Reimberg, meanwhile, said Serrano responded to warnings that he could be in danger by saying, “Everyone says the same thing, just so they don’t have to come to Encuentro prison.”

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illegal and arbitrary