‘Latin America’s deadliest’ jail sees 15 killed as ‘grenades thrown’ in war

A fight at Ecuador’s largest prison left 15 inmates dead and 14 injured Tuesday (November 12).

The Litoral Penitentiary, in Guayaquil, has been the site of several riots and mass killings over the years. In 2021, 119 lags were left dead after a flare up of gang violence behind bars. Yesterday’s lethal brawl saw convicts go at each other in one of the jail’s cell blocks, according The National Service of Comprehensive Attention to Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders which oversees the prison system.

Images from inside the prison show authorities standing next to the body of a dead inmate lying on the roof, while a large group of shirtless prisoners were seen in handcuffs and lying on the ground of a courtyard.

One of the victims’ sister told Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo the death toll might have been much higher.

“They threw grenades at them, they decapitated them, they cut them up. The police themselves, while they were there (outside the prison), showed me the videos that show (the bodies) in the upper part; they are all lying there,” she said.

“That is why we came here, because they already said that there are not 17 or anything, there are like 35, 40 dead. That is what they gave information inside (the prison) itself.”

Security forces reportedly managed to enter the prison, taking control of the facility to “guarantee security and prevent new incidents” according to the Daily Mail.

Ecuador’s prisons have become the most dangerous in Latin America, with dozens of incidents in the country’s jails leaving more than 400 people dead since 2001.

The Litoral Penitentiary is among the deadliest of these, its reputation for violence not helped by its overcrowding. According to the Daily Mail it houses around 10,000 inmates – double its capacity.

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