Ecuador prison violence kills at least 15

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A fight among inmates has left at least 15 people dead and 14 injured at Ecuador’s largest prison, authorities said Tuesday.

The Litoral Penitentiary in the coastal city of Guayaquil has been the site of frequent riots and mass killings, including one in 2021 that left 119 inmates dead.

Authorities provided few details about what triggered the latest bout of violence. In a statement, prison officials said that police and military had been deployed to take control of the facility.

Local media reported helicopters could be seen flying over the prison as relatives of inmates gathered outside the gates to check on loved ones.

Ecuador’s prisons have become among the deadliest in Latin America as overcrowding, corruption and weak state control have allowed gangs to proliferate. Many of the gangs are connected to Ecuador’s flourishing narcotics trade and are heavily armed with weapons smuggled in from the outside.