Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

Ecuador prison riot leaves 43 dead in latest bloody episode

Ecuador prison riot leaves 43 dead in latest bloody episode

Sixth deadly prison massacre fueled by rival drug gangs since the beginning of 2021, bringing death toll to nearly 400
Scores of inmates are feared dead in Ecuador after a deadly prison riot broke out between rival drugs gangs, in the latest bloody episode of a wave of violence that has engulfed the country’s prisons.

Forty-three prisoners were confirmed dead on Monday as more than 200 police commandos retook control of the maximum-security wing of the Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas prison, about two hours drive from the capital Quito, but the death-toll is likely to rise.

Interior minister Patricio Carrillo told reporters that the majority of the victims had been “executed with bladed weapons”.

It is Ecuador’s sixth deadly prison massacre since the beginning of 2021 pushing the death toll to nearly 400 as violence has spiked to unprecedented levels fuelled by rivalry between drug trafficking gangs. More than 300 inmates were slaughtered in the country’s prisons last year, including one massacre in Guayaquil’s Litoral penitentiary in which 119 prisoners lost their lives.

Gruesome images on social media showed mutilated bodies strewn in a courtyard in the jail. Meanwhile, local television broadcast images which have become all too familiar to Ecuadorean viewers, showing dozens of relatives, mostly women, who had gathered outside the jail desperate for news of their loved ones.

“There was really a lot of cruelty,” Ecuador’s police chief, Fausto Salinas, told journalists, adding that hand grenades, machine guns, revolvers and ammunition had been found at the jail. Earlier on Monday, he told local television that the immediate trigger for the violence was the transfer of a gang leader from another prison. “The presence of this person generated conflict and violence,” he said, criticising the judicial authorities who ordered the transfer.

This latest massacre is the first large-scale violent incident in the Santo Domingo prison this year. In February 2021, 33 inmates were killed in the same prison, many of them decapitated and dismembered, as part of a simultaneous attack coordinated by criminal gangs in different prisons that left a total of 78 dead throughout the country.

Analysts say the spike in prison violence began when local criminal gangs began vying to work with the rival Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation drug cartels.

Ecuador – which sits between Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest cocaine-producing countries – is a strategic smuggling route due to its long Pacific coastline and large shipping and fishing fleets.

In the first four months of this year, Ecuadorean authorities have seized 85 tonnes of cocaine, twice the amount seized the year before.

Ecuador’s president Guillermo Lasso, who was on an official visit to Israel, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said: “This is the unfortunate result of gang violence,” in a tweet.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
×