Sixty-eight inmates in an Ecuador prison are dead following a gun battle between rival gangs inside the nation’s largest penitentiary.
Violence erupted at the Litoral Penitentiary between two prison gangs connected to drug cartels, according to The Associated Press. The fighting lasted for eight hours on Saturday, and inmates were seen carrying guns and explosives inside the prison, which incarcerates 8,500 people, the wire service reported.
QUITO, Ecuador — A prolonged gun battle between rival gangs inside Ecuador’s largest prison early Saturday left at least 68 inmates dead in the latest violence to hit the Litoral Penitentiary, which recently saw the country’s worst prison bloodbath.
The fighting lasted for almost eight hours in the lockup in the coastal city of Guayaquil and authorities attributed the fighting to prison gangs linked to international drug cartels. Videos circulating on social media showed bodies, some burned, lying on the ground inside the prison.
Sixty-eight inmates in an Ecuador prison are dead following a gun battle between rival gangs inside the nation’s largest penitentiary.
Violence erupted at the Litoral Penitentiary between two prison gangs connected to drug cartels, according to The Associated Press. The fighting lasted for eight hours on Saturday, and inmates were seen carrying guns and explosives inside the prison, which incarcerates 8,500 people, the wire service reported.
Twelve additional inmates were injured during the weekend rioting. Video from the incident showed inmates lying on the ground — some of the bodies were burned because of the incident, according to AP.
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The prison is located in the coastal city of Guayaquil.
The governor of the Guayas province said that the government is trying to fight drug trafficking. The leader said inmates “tried to dynamite a wall to get into pavilion 2 to carry out a massacre. They also burned mattresses to try to drown [their rivals] in smoke,” Gov. Pablo Arosemena said, the AP reported.
At least 58 inmates died and 12 were injured after violence broke out at one of Ecuador’s largest prisons.
Dozens of inmates were killed and injured in clashes early Saturday in Litoral Penitentiary, the same prison in the Guayas Province where more than 100 were killed just over a month ago, Guayas Governor Pablo Arosemena said in an announcement.
Ecuadorian police began activating security protocols Friday night after reports of gunshots and possible confrontations between inmates at the prison, Arosemena said.