Two clashes between rival gangs at a prison in southern Ecuador on Sunday left at least 31 inmates dead, 27 of them from “asphyxia,” officials said.
In the first attack, the criminal organization Los Lobos was targeted in the early hours of the morning by a breakaway gang known as Saobox, Interior Minister John Reinberg said in an interview with Radio Centro Ecuador on Monday. At least four inmates were reportedly killed and around 36 injured at Machala detention center. Two officers sustained minor injuries as authorities intervened to regain control of the situation.
Later that day, Los Lobos carried out a “retaliatory” attack against Saobox, killing 27 members by suffocating them inside several cells shared by both groups, Reinberg said.
“In retaliation, Lobos choked members of other organizations so as not to leave any traces of violence on their bodies,” the minister said.
Around 6 p.m., prison guards discovered the body during a routine check.
Ecuador’s prison system, SNAI, said in an earlier statement on Sunday that the inmates “suffocated each other, resulting in instant death due to suspension.” Authorities did not immediately say what “suffocation” meant or whether the inmate had been hanged.
“Authorities, operational teams and forensic personnel continue to work at the scene, verifying information and responding to reported emergencies,” SNAI said Sunday in response to inquiries from media outlets, including CNN.
Asked why rival gang members were sharing cells, Limeberg pointed out that they were originally part of the same group before Saovox parted ways with Los Lobos over a management dispute. The reason why they remained in the same place even after disbanding was not revealed.
SNAI said Sunday’s first attack was prompted by the transfer of prisoners to a new maximum security facility, but did not provide further details.
Reinberg suggested that inmates across the country are causing chaos to prevent authorities from transferring them to new prisons.
The attack in Machala is the latest in a series of deadly prison clashes across Ecuador.
In September, at least 17 people were killed in clashes between rival gangs at a prison in the coastal city of Esmeraldas, national police said. Three days earlier, 14 more prisoners were killed at Machala.
More than 500 inmates have died in Ecuador’s prisons since 2021, according to official statistics.
Despite military and police presence in some prisons, there has been a wave of violence inside prisons. This is part of the ongoing state of internal armed conflict that the government declared in January 2024 to quell criminal violence nationwide.
Los Lobos is one of two Ecuadorian criminal organizations that the United States announced in September that it would designate it as a foreign terrorist organization. The designation would allow the United States to share information with Ecuador that could impose sanctions and “act on potentially lethal operations,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time.
