At least 27 inmates killed by ‘asphyxiation’ in southern Ecuador in wave of prison violence

Police officers stand guard at a prison entrance in Machala, Ecuador, after a deadly riot on Sunday. (LUIS SUAREZ/AFP via Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Two clashes between rival gangs in a southern Ecuadorian prison left at least 31 inmates dead on Sunday, including 27 who were killed by “asphyxiation,” officials said.

In the first attack, the criminal group Los Lobos was targeted by a breakaway gang known as Sao-Box in the early morning, Interior Minister John Reimberg said Monday in an interview with Radio Centro Ecuador. At least four inmates in the Machala Detention Center were reported killed and roughly 36 were wounded. Two officers suffered nonserious injuries as authorities stepped in to regain control of the situation.

Later in the day, Los Lobos carried out a “reprisal” attack against Sao-Box, killing 27 of its members by asphyxiating them inside several cells that both groups shared, according to Reimberg.

“In retaliation, Lobos asphyxiated members of the other organization to avoid leaving signs of violence on their bodies,” the minister said.

Prison guards discovered the bodies around 6 p.m. while carrying out routine inspections.

Ecuador’s penitentiary system SNAI said in a previous statement Sunday that the inmates had “committed asphyxiation among themselves, which resulted in immediate death by suspension.” Authorities did not immediately clarify what they meant by “asphyxiation” or say whether the inmates were hanged.

In response to inquiries from the press, including CNN, SNAI said Sunday that “authorities, operational teams and forensic medical personnel continue working at the scene, verifying information and attending to reported emergencies.”

Asked why rival gang members shared cells, Reimberg noted that they were initially part of the same group, before Sao-Box broke off from Los Lobos over management disputes. He did not specify why they were still kept in the same place after the split.

The first attack on Sunday was prompted by the transfer of inmates to a new maximum-security facility, SNAI said without providing details.

Reimberg suggested that inmates across the country have been causing chaos to prevent authorities from transferring them to the new prison.

The attacks in Machala are the latest in a series of deadly prison clashes throughout Ecuador.

In September, a confrontation between rival gangs at a prison in the coastal city of Esmeraldas left at least 17 dead, according to the National Police. Three days earlier, an additional 14 inmates were killed in Machala.

Since 2021, more than 500 inmates have died in Ecuador’s prisons, according to official figures.

The wave of prison violence is happening despite the deployment of military and police forces in several penitentiaries. It’s part of an ongoing state of internal armed conflict that the government declared in January 2024 to try to quell criminal violence nationwide.

Los Lobos is one of two Ecuadorian criminal groups that the United States said it would designate as foreign terrorist organizations in September. The designation allows the US to impose sanctions and share intelligence with Ecuador “that can be actioned for potentially lethal operations,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time.

By Ana María Cañizares, Rocío Muñoz-Ledo and Michael Rios