Prison violence in Ecuador leaves four dead, dozens wounded

At least four inmates were killed and more than 40 others injured after a riot broke out early on November 9 at Machala prison in Ecuador’s El Oro province, according to police and prison authorities.

The National Service for Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) confirmed the deaths in a statement posted on X, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The incident occurred around 2:45 a.m. local time on November 9, prompting an emergency response from the National Police and the Armed Forces to regain control of the facility.

Authorities said the unrest began amid tensions linked to the ongoing reorganisation of prisoners following the recent opening of a new maximum-security facility. Tactical police units were later deployed to restore order inside the prison’s pavilions.

SNAI reported that 43 people were injured, several of them seriously, and taken to local hospitals for treatment. Among the wounded was one member of the National Police.

The Machala prison, located in Ecuador’s coastal region near the border with Peru, has witnessed repeated outbreaks of violence in recent years, reflecting the wider security crisis across the country’s overcrowded prison system. Rival criminal groups have been blamed for deadly clashes as they battle for control inside the facilities.

Ecuador’s government has been under growing pressure to tackle prison violence, which has claimed hundreds of lives since 2021 despite multiple security interventions and the construction of new high-security jails.

By Aghakazim Guliyev