The new wave of violence rocked the El Oro No 1 Detention Center in Machala over the weekend with retaliations leaving 31 inmates dead in tit-for-tat clashes
Clashes between rival gangs at an Ecuadorian prison has left 31 inmates dead. Officials say 27 of them were killed by “asphyxiation” in a new wave of violence at the El Oro No 1 Detention Center in Machala.
The first attack saw the criminal group, Los Lobos targeted by a breakaway gang known as Sao-Box, Interior Minister John Reimberg said Monday in an interview with Radio Centro Ecuador. A shootout left four dead and 43 people wounded on November 9.
The incident happened at around 2.45am local time when ECU-911 Machala received alerts about explosions and disturbances inside the prison. Tactical units from the National Police and the Intervention and Rescue Group (GIR) were immediately deployed, and after several minutes of clashes, they managed to regain control of the facility, reports Conexion Informativa.
A police source warned that the death toll could rise in the coming hours due to the severity of the injuries sustained by some inmates. Officers found two firearms and three explosive devices believed to have been used during the confrontation.
Later in the day, Los Lobos carried out a “reprisal” attack against Sao-Box, killing 27 of its members by asphyxiating them inside several cells that both groups shared, according to Reimberg. “In retaliation, Lobos asphyxiated members of the other organization to avoid leaving signs of violence on their bodies,” the minister said.
Prison guards discovered the bodies around 6 p.m. while carrying out routine inspections, reports CNN. Ecuador’s penitentiary system SNAI said in a previous statement Sunday that the inmates had “committed asphyxiation among themselves, which resulted in immediate death by suspension.” Authorities did not immediately clarify what they meant by “asphyxiation” or say whether the inmates were hanged.
Asked my members of the press why rival gang members shared cells, Reimberg noted that they were initially part of the same group, before Sao-Box broke off from Los Lobos over management disputes. He did not specify why they were still kept in the same place after the split.
The first attack on Sunday was prompted by the transfer of inmates to a new maximum-security facility, SNAI said.
The prison, which houses more than 1,300 inmates despite having a capacity for only 600, has been the scene of several violent incidents. Just last month, a massacre left 14 dead—including a prison guard—and 14 wounded, in one of the bloodiest episodes recorded at the facility.
The Machala prison is one of the most notorious jails in Ecuador, renowned for the level of gang violence inside its walls. One harrowing moment in recent months came when a prisoner had pretended to be sick in order to leave their cell, only to then fire on other inmates with a gun that was smuggled in for them.
Other ways that the prison is well known includes its poor standard of hygiene and the easy spread of serious diseases. Previous instances of tuberculosis outbreaks have been recorded at the facility, with as many as 182 people being struck down with the potentially fatal disease.
Prison gangs have played a key role in running criminal enterprises from behind bars and have struck alliances with Mexican drug cartels to control the flow of cocaine from neighbouring producer countries through Ecuador’s ports to the US and beyond.
Since 2021, more than 500 inmates have died in Ecuador’s prisons, according to official figures.
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