Twenty-seven prisoners died from asphyxiation and hanging at a prison in Machala, Ecuador, according to the SNAI prison agency, though authorities have not disclosed further details. Forensic teams are on site to verify the circumstances. Earlier, four people died and 33 inmates plus one officer were injured during a riot triggered by the reorganization of inmates into a new maximum-security facility. The disturbance erupted around 3:00 a.m., with locals reporting gunfire, explosions, and cries for help. Elite police regained control, but it remains unclear if inter-gang fighting was involved.

Ecuador’s prisons have become strongholds for rival drug-trafficking gangs, with over 500 inmates killed in recent years as groups vie for control of lucrative cocaine routes. Previous massacres include 14 deaths at the same prison in September and 17 killed in Esmeraldas. Social media has sometimes broadcast the violence, including decapitations and charred bodies.

Nestled between Peru and Colombia, Ecuador processes more than 70% of the world’s cocaine. Experts attribute the escalating violence to the prison system’s entanglement with organized crime, making the country one of Latin America’s deadliest. President Daniel Noboa’s administration blames rival gangs for the ongoing bloodshed.