Twenty-seven prisoners in the port town of Machala, south of Guayaquil, died due to asphyxiation and “immediate death by hanging”, according to a statement shared on X by the SNAI prisons agency.

There were no other details about how the prisoners died.

Earlier yesterday, SNAI reported four deaths at the same prison in a separate incident, which was brought under control by tactical police.

“That riot was prompted by a reorganisation of the prisoners in a new maximum security facility,” the statement said.

Ecuador has faced a wave of deadly prison riots in recent years, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of inmates.

President Daniel Noboa’s administration, which has pledged to take a tough stance on crime, blames the violence on rival gangs battling for dominance and territorial control.

In September, a riot caused by gang fighting in the same prison left 14 people dead and another 14 wounded.

Days later, another 17 people were killed in a prison riot in the northern city of Esmeraldas, near the border with Colombia.