Ecuador Prison Clashes Leave At Least 31 Inmates Dead

At least 31 inmates died yesterday in two separate clashes between rival gangs at a prison in Machala, Ecuador, with 27 fatalities resulting from asphyxiation, according to officials.

The violence began early Sunday morning when members of the Sao-Box gang attacked Los Lobos within the Machala Detention Center, resulting in four deaths and approximately 36 injuries, along with minor injuries to two officers. Later, Los Lobos retaliated against Sao-Box, asphyxiating 27 members in shared cells, according to Interior Minister John Reimberg. “In retaliation, Lobos asphyxiated members of the other organization to avoid leaving signs of violence on their bodies,” Reimberg told Radio Centro Ecuador. This latest incident underscores the escalating crisis within Ecuador’s prison system.

Authorities discovered the bodies around 6 p.m. during routine inspections. Reimberg explained that the rival groups were initially part of the same organization before a split over management disputes, and he did not specify why they remained housed together. The initial attack was reportedly triggered by the transfer of inmates to a new maximum-security facility, a move officials believe is being resisted by inmates across the country through orchestrated chaos. Ecuador has been grappling with a surge in prison violence; Human Rights Watch has documented the dire conditions and escalating brutality within the country’s penitentiaries.

More than 500 inmates have died in Ecuadorian prisons since 2021, despite the deployment of military and police forces as part of a state of internal armed conflict declared in January 2024. Los Lobos is one of two Ecuadorian criminal groups recently designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the United States. Authorities continue to investigate and verify information at the scene, with operational teams and forensic medical personnel working to address ongoing emergencies.