The bloody day in Machala prison marks the latest wave of unrest in the country's prisons located in South America. The authorities stated in a bulletin that they are still working to fully ascertain what happened in the Machala prison in El Oro province, adding that a forensic team is at the scene. Ecuadorian authorities announced that on Sunday, at least 27 inmates were found dead by suffocation in one of the prisons following riots that also left four others dead and dozens injured. The latest violence comes as Ecuadorian prisons have become operational centers for competing drug trafficking gangs, where more than 500 inmates have been killed in violence between groups vying for control of the lucrative trade.
