MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Second massacre in 3 days leaves another 17 inmates dead at Ecuadorean jail

Ecuador's prisons are at the center of the country's violence crisis, with an estimated 600 inmates killed since 2021

A mass riot in the Men's Social Rehabilitation Center in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, on Thursday, resulted in the deaths of at least 17 inmates, marking the country's second deadly prison massacre in a week.

According to local authorities, the riot was a confrontation between rival criminal gangs: 'Los Tiguerones' allegedly issued an “external order” to attack members of 'Los Lobos' and 'Los Choneros' inside the prison.

Inmates reportedly used a false alarm to break out of their cells, steal keys from security guards, and attack their rivals.

In response, the National Service for the Comprehensive Care of Adults Deprived of Liberty and Juvenile Offenders (SNAI) is investigating the incident, while the Ecuadorean Army has been deployed to conduct control and security operations at the facility.

The massacre comes just three days after another prison riot in Machala (southern Ecuador) left 14 people dead, including a prison guard, following an attack by the 'Los Lobos Box' gang.

Ecuador's prisons are at the center of the country's violence crisis, with an estimated 600 inmates killed since 2021 in a series of massacres driven by rival gang wars.

Correctional facilities have become the operational and economic base for these mafias, which thrive due to failed state reforms, negligence, and corruption, using the facilities to organize drug trafficking and expand their territorial control outside the prison walls. The rivalry for control of this lucrative criminal economy is the direct cause of the mass killings, it was explained.