• At least 31 inmates died during a riot at Machala prison in Ecuador.
• 27 fatalities were reportedly due to asphyxiation or hanging.
• The violence is linked to plans for transferring inmates to a new maximum-security facility.

A violent riot at Machala prison in Ecuador’s El Oro province has resulted in at least 31 deaths, according to officials. The Ecuadorian National Service for Comprehensive Attention to Adults Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) reported that the majority of fatalities, 27 inmates, died from asphyxiation, while four others were killed in the initial unrest. The riot occurred early Sunday morning and led to numerous injuries among inmates and law enforcement, highlighting the ongoing turmoil within Ecuador's correctional facilities, which are plagued by violence and overcrowding, according to South China Morning Post and India Times.

The violence erupted as the government prepared to transfer some inmates to a new maximum-security prison set to open soon. Reports indicate that the riot was characterized by gunfire, explosions, and chaos within the prison walls, reflecting the intense rivalries among drug-trafficking gangs operating within Ecuador’s prison system. Last year's nationwide disturbances led to the deaths of over 500 inmates, a situation exacerbated by the state’s weak control, as identified by Reuters and Al Jazeera.

Echoing a troubling trend, this incident follows a similar event just months earlier in which 14 individuals died amid apparent gang conflicts within the Machala facility. President Daniel Noboa’s administration asserts that these violent outbreaks stem from battles among gangs for control over lucrative drug-trafficking routes, which only reflects a growing crisis in the penal system marked by corruption, overcrowding, and rampant gang influence, according to Reuters and South China Morning Post.