At least 13 inmates and one prison guard were killed, and 14 others injured, in a violent gang clash inside a prison in Machala, a coastal city in southwestern Ecuador, police confirmed on Monday.
Residents living near the facility reported hearing explosions and gunfire in the early hours, as rival groups battled for control.
Hostage-Taking and Explosives
According to preliminary reports, prison staff rushed to one wing after receiving an emergency alarm from inmates. Once inside, they were ambushed — with attackers seizing several guards and killing one.
Members of the gang Los Lobos Box then stormed a rival wing, unleashing a brutal assault. Inmates detonated an explosive device, blasting a hole in the prison’s perimeter wall that allowed several prisoners to escape.
Police chief William Calle confirmed that 13 escapees had been recaptured but did not disclose the total number who fled.
Among the injured are two police officers. Authorities regained control after deploying 200 soldiers and police.
Violence Spills Beyond the Walls
The Machala facility has long drawn criticism from residents, who have demanded its relocation due to its central location and repeated episodes of gang violence.
Deadly clashes in Ecuador’s overcrowded prisons have become routine, with gangs using the facilities as bases of operation. Many wield influence far beyond the walls, running criminal networks and forging alliances with powerful Mexican drug cartels to dominate the lucrative cocaine trade from the Andes to the United States and Europe.
A Nation in Crisis
Once considered one of Latin America’s safest countries, Ecuador is now among its deadliest, plagued by escalating turf wars between criminal groups.
Earlier this month, the United States designated Los Lobos and Los Choneros as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), accusing them of seeking to dominate drug-trafficking corridors through “terrorising and inflicting brutal violence on the Ecuadorian people.”
Despite repeated security crackdowns, Ecuador’s prisons remain powder kegs — and Monday’s bloodshed is yet another grim reminder of the state’s struggle to contain the chaos.
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