A confrontation between rival gangs in the coastal city of Esmeraldas, Ecuador, left at least 17 dead, the National Police reported in a press release.
“The situation took place from an external order of the organized criminal group Tiguerones to eliminate members of Los Lobos, and prisoners not affiliated with Los Tiguerones,” police said.
The institution has confirmed that it implemented a safety operation in the Emerald Penitentiary area and that the number of dead can be adjusted as the bodies are recovered.
According to the preliminary report, the clashes would have begun in one of the cells of the penitentiary after an ambush where the cell keys were stolen, allowing the detainees to try to kill prisoners in the outside cells.
“The competent authorities are conducting the corresponding investigations to clarify the event. We will provide more details soon,” said the Snai (Attention Service for Private Liberty) in a statement.
A CNN Contact the Presidency of the Republic for more details, but so far has not received an answer.
Massacre in Machala Prison
This confrontation in the penitentiary occurs just three days after another, in the province of El Oro, in the south of the country, where 14 detainees were declared dead, police said.
About the crime, Colonel William Fabián Calle, indicated that, after police entry into the Machala Penitentiary, the agents found 14 dead, 14 injured and a prison guard who was shot and died in one of the cells.
“It is known that there is a confrontation between gangs in this prison. Two wings are being transferred to an organized crime group, and this is where these murders are taking place. The question is how they were transferred to the other wing, as there are several filters,” Calle explained.
Violent events in prisons occur amid a state of internal armed conflict that has been in force in the country since January 2024, despite the military and police detachment in some
