At least four people have been killed and more than 30 others injured in a violent clash at a prison in southwestern Ecuador, the country’s prison authority, SNAI revealed this in a statement.
According to the report the disturbance reportedly broke out at a correctional facility in Machala, a city near the Pacific coast. Residents in the area said they heard gunfire, explosions, and cries for help coming from inside the prison. In a statement, SNAI confirmed that four inmates lost their lives, while 33 prisoners and one police officer were injured during the incident.
Ecuador’s prison system has increasingly become a battleground for rival drug-trafficking gangs vying for control over lucrative cocaine routes. Reports indicate that more than 500 inmates have been killed in similar clashes in recent years.
Authorities believe the latest violence may be connected to plans to transfer inmates to a new maximum-security facility, set to be inaugurated later this month under the administration of President Daniel Noboa.
