At least 17 inmates were killed in a prison clash in Ecuador on Friday, the country’s national prisons agency confirmed. The massacre occurred at a prison in Guayas province, adding to a growing wave of violence within Ecuador’s correctional facilities.
The incident comes just three days after a seperate fatal incident at the machala prison in El Oro province,where 14 inmates were killed. Ecuador has struggled with escalating prison violence since 2021, with more then 500 inmate deaths recorded. The recent surge in bloodshed is unfolding against the backdrop of a state of internal armed conflict declared in January 2024, despite increased military and police presence in some prisons.
“The appropriate authorities are conducting the corresponding investigations to clarify what happened. We will provide more details soon,” Ecuador’s national prisons agency SNAI said in a statement.
The Machala prison incident, reported by police Col. William Fabián Calle, involved the revelation of 14 dead inmates, 14 wounded inmates, and a fatally shot prison guard within a single cell block. Calle noted the presence of gang conflict within the prison, stating, “You know there’s gang conflict in this prison. Two cell blocks are controlled by an organized crime group, and that’s where these murders are occurring. The question is how they were transferred to the other wing,since there are several filters.”
CNN has contacted the Ecuadorian presidency for further details.
