On the recordMay 14, 1997
Well, the conditions is the worst. In fact, the human rights groups indicated that Ecuadoran prisons, and I am sure this may be true in most of the South American countries, but Ecuador, No. 1, is one of the worst human rights violations in the whole world. And you know I feel kind of responsible in the sense that it is our drug policy, and their system was not set up that there is misdemeanors and you know. So small offenses, all of them, are treated the same, and this is where we can help as far as providing assistance to the judicial system to set up misdemeanors or to set up bail for small offenses. I mean this is a travesty, a human travesty, and it is the waste of not just the children but the family. But it costs the system just to keep these people in prison.
Source
govinfo.gov
