Ecuador - Prison riots in Guayaquil

Systemic criminal justice shortcomings and a changing criminal landscape in Ecuador are the cause of the country’s latest prison riots.

Last week, Ecuador’s Litoral prison in Guayaquil experienced the second deadly massacre in less than two months. Escalating gang rivalries led to a violent clash in the prison that left 68 prisoners dead and 25 injured. In September, a riot in the same prison caused 119 deaths, the deadliest incident in the history of Ecuador’s penal system. The recent …