Khaberni - The Ecuadorian authorities announced that the bodies of at least 27 inmates who died of suffocation were found in one of the prisons last Sunday, following riots that also resulted in the death of 4 others and injured dozens.
The authorities in a statement said they "are still working to fully reveal the truth of what happened in the Machala prison in the El Oro province," adding that the forensics team is present at the location.
The bloody day at the Machala prison represents the latest wave of disturbances in the state's prisons located in South America.
The Ecuadorian prisons have turned into operation centers for competing drug trafficking gangs, where more than 500 inmates were killed in violence among groups competing for control of the profitable trade.
The latest outbreak of violence erupted around 3:00 AM, in the Machala city prison in the southwest of the country. Local residents heard sounds of gunfire, explosions, and distress calls coming from inside the prison.
The Ecuadorian prison authorities confirmed that 4 people died in the violence, and 33 inmates and a police officer were injured. They stated that elite police teams immediately entered the prison and regained control of it after the outbreak of the riots.
However, the prison authorities did not specify the identities of the deceased or the cause of the violence outbreak. It is believed that the violence in this prison is linked to plans to transfer some prisoners to a new high-security prison, built by President Daniel Noboa's government in another province, scheduled to open this month.
At the end of last September, another armed confrontation in the Machala prison resulted in the death of 13 inmates and one of the prison officials.
