A violent riot inside a prison in southwest Ecuador has left at least 31 inmates dead, marking one of the country\u2019s deadliest episodes this year. Ecuador\u2019s national prisons agency, SNAI, said in a statement that 27 prisoners died from asphyxiation and \u201cimmediate death by hanging\u201d following an eruption of chaos early Sunday in Machala, a coastal city near the Peruvian border. Officials said forensic teams were still investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths.<\/p>\n
The violence began around 3:00 a.m., when residents near the prison reported hearing gunfire, explosions, and screams. Tactical police units stormed the facility and eventually restored control after hours of fighting. Initially, four inmates were reported killed, but the number rose sharply as authorities discovered more bodies. At least 33 prisoners and one police officer were injured.<\/p>\n
Authorities have not confirmed whether the riot stemmed from clashes between rival gangs, though recent reorganizations within the prison system have often triggered turf wars. Ecuador\u2019s penitentiaries have become strongholds for powerful criminal groups that control drug routes and carry out violence from behind bars. Since 2021, more than 500 inmates have died in prison confrontations.<\/p>\n
The Machala facility has seen repeated bloodshed. In September, 14 inmates were killed and 14 wounded in another riot, followed days later by 17 deaths in Esmeraldas prison.<\/p>\n
Once considered one of South America\u2019s safer nations, Ecuador is now gripped by narco-violence linked to transnational trafficking networks. Experts warn that the country\u2019s prison system \u2014 overrun by gangs \u2014 has become the epicenter of its security crisis, turning places of confinement into brutal battlefields in an ongoing war for control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A violent riot inside a prison in southwest Ecuador has left at least 31 inmates dead, marking one of the country\u2019s deadliest episodes this year. Ecuador\u2019s national… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n