At least 68 prisoners were killed at an Ecuadorean prison where more than a hundred inmates died in ongoing clashes between rival gangs that had begun back in September. The riot occurred at the Litoral Penitentiary in the city of Guayaquil, where police tactical units found guns and explosives. Nearly 300 inmates have died so far this year in the country's prisons-- the latest surge in gang-related violence was the worst in Ecuador's history. Ecuador's prisons are currently accommodating about 9,000 more prisoners than they were designed to hold, officials say. The Litoral Penitentiary was designed for 5,300 inmates but currently holds 8,500.
At the time, inmates from one wing of the prison crawled through a hole to gain access to a different wing, where they attacked rival gang members. Hundreds of officers and army soldiers were deployed to regain control of the complex. The deadly fight, which saw some inmates decapitated, drew attention to the growing influence in Ecuador of transnational crime gangs such as the Mexico-based Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso insisted that his government was regaining control not only of the prisons but also of areas of Ecuador where drug traffickers had gained a foothold. He accused previous governments of being "passive" about drug trafficking but warned that rising drug use in the country would take "more than a decade" to tackle. He also said Ecuador would need international support from neighboring Colombia, the U.S. and the EU to strengthen its armed forces and police to combat the growing influence of crime gangs.
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