Relatives of prisoners embrace in front of the Litoral Prison in the Ecuadorian coastal city of Guayaquil on November 12. At least more than a dozen people died in fights between inmates there, officials said. (AP)

QUITO, Ecuador, Nov. 13, (AP): Fifteen people were killed and 14 injured in a fight between inmates at Ecuador’s largest and most dangerous prison, officials said Tuesday, in the bloodiest prison incident ever faced by President Daniel Noboa’s government. Officials attributed the outbreak to internal tensions among inmates but did not provide further details.

Litoral Prison has a history of violent unrest, most notably the 2021 massacre that left 119 people dead. The latest violence underscores the ongoing challenges faced by Noboa’s administration in addressing the country’s severe prison crisis. In January, a series of coordinated riots at multiple prisons resulted in 150 guards being taken hostage and the tragic death of one officer.

According to local media reports, as helicopters flew over the prison, ambulances and relatives of prisoners rushed to the gates, some in despair, screaming for their loved ones. Mass murder is bound to electrify the presidential race in Ecuador; Noboa, the head of law and order here, has made improving security, including inside detention facilities, a top priority as he seeks re-election next year.

Ecuadorian prisons are among the deadliest in Latin America, as overcrowding, corruption and weak state control have led to the proliferation of gangs linked to drug traffickers in Colombia and Mexico. They are heavily armed, many with weapons smuggled in from outside, and continue to organize criminal activities behind bars.

Litoral Prison currently houses around 10,000 inmates – doubling its capacity. Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office said it was preparing to charge nine inmates with murder resulting from violence. A dozen outbreaks of violence in Ecuadorian prisons since 2001 have killed more than 400 people. Prison violence reflects the deteriorating security situation across the Andean country.