Overview

• The National Police reported that the violence targeted rivals from Los Lobos, Los Choneros and unaffiliated inmates on orders attributed to Los Tiguerones.
• A preliminary report described an ambush in one cell block where inmates stole keys, allowing attackers to reach prisoners in outer cells.
• Authorities recovered bodies as a security operation continued inside Esmeraldas prison, with officials cautioning the toll could rise and investigations ongoing.
• The killings follow a deadly episode at Machala prison days earlier in which 13 inmates and a guard were found dead; firearms and explosives were used and some inmates briefly escaped.
• AFP-verified images showed decapitations, and the deaths add to roughly 500 inmates killed since 2021 despite military control of prisons under a declared internal armed conflict and Ecuador’s growing role as a cocaine transit hub.