At least 15 inmates killed in a fight in Ecuador's largest prison

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QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A fight among inmates in Ecuador’s largest and most dangerous prison left 15 dead and 14 wounded, authorities said Tuesday, in the bloodiest prison episode faced by President Daniel Noboa’s government.

Authorities attributed the outbreak to internal tensions among inmates, but offered no further details. The Litoral Penitentiary has a history of violent disturbances, most notably the 2021 massacre that claimed 119 lives.

The latest violence underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the Noboa administration in addressing the country’s severe prison crisis. In January, a series of coordinated riots across multiple prisons led to the hostage-taking of 150 prison guards, culminating in the tragic death of one official.

Local media reported helicopters flew over the prison as ambulances and relatives of inmates, some of them shouting in desperation for loved ones, rushed to the gates.

The mass killing is bound to agitate Ecuador's presidential race, where the law-and-order incumbent, Noboa, has made improving security, including inside detention facilities, a top priority in his bid to seek reelection next year.

Ecuador's prisons have become among the deadliest in Latin America as overcrowding, corruption and weak state control have allowed gangs connected to drug traffickers in Colombia and Mexico to proliferate. Many are heavily armed with weapons smuggled in from the outside and continue to organize criminal activity from behind bars.

The Litoral Penitentiary currently houses about 10,000 inmates — or double its capacity.

Ecuador's Attorney General's office said that it is preparing to charge nine inmates with murder stemming from the violence.

A dozen outbreaks of violence in Ecuadorian prisons have left more than 400 people dead since 2001. The prison violence reflects a deteriorating security situation throughout the Andean nation.

Ecuador registered a record 47 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, up from a rate of six murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018.

Noboa in January declared a state of emergency and ordered the military to take control of the prisons after gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces.

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