New prison riot in Ecuador leaves 58 dead

A relative of an inmate cries as she waits for news about her loved one after 58 convicts were killed in a riot at the Guayas 1 prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Credit: AFP Photo

Ferocious clashes have left 58 inmates dead in an Ecuador prison, police said Saturday, in the latest unrest at a Guayaquil jail that was the scene of a September riot which killed 119 prisoners.

Police General Tannya Varela told reporters that an additional 12 inmates were injured in the brawl.

Nearly 300 prisoners have been killed this year in Ecuador's broken prison system, where thousands of inmates tied to drug gangs square off in violent clashes that often turn into riots.

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