Ecuador: Riot Breaks Out in Guayaquil's 4th Regional Prison

On Wednesday, a new riot erupted at the Fourth Regional Prison in Guayaquil, marking the first episode of penitentiary violence since Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared an "internal armed conflict" and militarized the prisons.

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Videos shared on social media show inmates setting mattresses on fire inside one of the pavilions in protest against mistreatment by the military.

For hours, the Noboa administration did not provide any information about what was happening. Subsequently, authorities said they had regained control of the prison by 80 percent.

During Noboa's state of emergency, the Fourth Regional Prison has been one of the most intervened prisons by the Police and the Armed Forces, which have carried out recurrent operations to confiscate weapons and other prohibited items.

However, videos posted by the inmates show that they not only possess cell phones to communicate with the outside world but also weapons to fight against the security forces.

The Fourth Regional Prison, which is the country's second largest prison and houses around 4,500 inmates, is part of the prison complex in the province of Guayas, where about 12,000 people are incarcerated in five prisons.

The new riot occurs less than two weeks before the 30-day extension of the state of emergency ends. Currently, the Ecuadorian State defines criminal gangs as terrorist groups and non-state belligerent actors.

Before the start of the state of emergency, Los Choneros, the country's largest and oldest gang, controlled the Fourth Regional Prison, where they extorted inmates by charging them for the use of cells and access to food.

In December 2023, the Los Choneros leader Jose Macias (aka Fito) escaped from this prison, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, illicit association, and homicide.