Fight in a prison in Ecuador leaves at least 13 dead and 2 injured

() — At least 13 inmates were killed and two were injured after a prison fight broke out between inmates inside a detention center in Santo Domingo de los Tlachiles, Ecuador, tweeted the National Penitentiary Administration System (SNAI) this Monday.

Authorities are working to identify the victims while internal and external security forces guard the prison. Order has been restored both inside and outside the prison, according to the SNAI.

Ecuador’s prison system has been affected by a security crisis since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic due to overcrowding and the presence of organized criminal groups inside prisons.

Various riots and clashes resulted in the deaths of hundreds of inmates in 2021 and the first half of 2022. At least 40 inmates were killed when clashes broke out inside the Santo Domingo detention center in May.