A tragic incident at El Oro prison in Machala, southern Ecuador, has left at least 31 inmates dead, with 27 found hanged and four killed in violent clashes between rival gangs. The violence erupted in the early hours of Sunday, injuring more than 30 others. Security guards, alerted to renewed gang activity, discovered the hanged victims on the prison’s third floor. This marks yet another deadly episode in Ecuador’s overcrowded prison system, which has seen hundreds of fatalities in recent years due to riots and gang conflicts. The latest violence was reportedly sparked by plans to transfer inmates to a newly constructed facility. El Oro prison has a grim history, including a September incident that claimed 13 inmates and a guard. Relatives of the prisoners have urged authorities to enhance security measures, including separating rival gangs, while local residents have long advocated for relocating the prison from its central city location. In response to the crisis, President Daniel Noboa’s government announced the construction of El Encuentro, a maximum-security prison in Santa Elena province, set to open in late November with advanced security features. Prison gangs, such as Los Lobos and Los Choneros, have significantly contributed to Ecuador’s escalating violent crime, leading to their designation as Foreign Terrorist Organisations by the US Department of State in September.