a new fight Litoral Prison, the largest and most crowded prison in Ecuador, was abandoned this Friday. number of prisoners yet to be determined murdered and three other prisoners were injuredis the product of gunfights between different pavilions controlled by rival gangs. While some local media have pointed to a dozen deaths, the SNAI (national penitentiary) has so far only confirmed three injured inmates and will not report an official death toll until procedures are followed for the removal and identification of bodies. Investigation.
The clash, involving inmates in blocks 3, 5, 8 and 9, began in the early afternoon and lasted until late at night, when people could be heard from outside the prison. lots of gunfire. The incidents took place two days after 6 prisoners from mansion number 5 were found hanging in the same prison.
Litoral Prison has witnessed some of the largest massacres recorded in Ecuadorian prisons since 2020, with more than 450 inmates killed as a result of clashes between rival gangs discussing internal control of the prisons. Added to this are prison conditions, with overcrowding, which in some cases can reach 50% of prison capacity.
The situation of violence spread to the street Organized crime groups at odds over control of drug trafficking routes, especially in the coastal area with ports that have made Ecuador one of the main springboards for cocaine reaching North America and Europe. An example of this is the triple crime, committed on Thursday in front of Litoral Prison, where three guards were shot and killed by alleged hitmen while the three of them were having lunch together.