31 Dead in Ecuador Prison as Government Begins Transfers to New Maximum-Security Facility

Overview

• SNAI confirmed 31 fatalities at the Machala prison, with 27 found dead by asphyxiation in a separate afternoon incident and four killed during a pre-dawn armed clash.
• SNAI reported 33 inmates and one police officer injured in the initial confrontation before elite units regained control.
• Police tactical teams retook the facility and detained seven people who will be processed, while forensic teams continued work on both incidents.
• Transfers of high-risk detainees to the new El Encuentro maximum-security prison began, with the interior minister saying the most dangerous prisoners are being moved.
• The deaths extend a years-long prison crisis in Ecuador, with roughly 500 inmates killed since 2021 and recent shifts from military to police management of several facilities.