Ten killed in latest Ecuador prison clashes

QUITO: Clashes between rival gangs claimed at least 10 lives in the second deadly riot in an Ecuadoran prison in days, police said Thursday.

Violence broke out in a prison in the troubled coastal city of Esmeraldas, near the Colombian border, where police said they found 10 dead prisoners in two cell blocks — adding to about 500 inmate deaths in the country since 2021.

On Monday, 13 prisoners and a guard were reported killed in southwest Ecuador, whose overcrowded and violent prisons have become operational centers for organized crime groups.