Ecuador declared a state of emergency Tuesday following a wave of prison violence that resulted in the death 31 inmates.
Following the gang-related violence, 2,700 soldiers stormed one of the country’s most dangerous prisons to retake control of the facility.
Litoral , located southeast of the capital city of Quito, has capacity for about 9,500 inmates; but, the facility surpassed that number by 3,000 this year.
This is not the first time violence broke out at this location. In 2021, a similar resulted in the death of 119 inmates.
Inmates in 13 other prisons went on a hunger strike on Monday, demanding better living conditions while holding a hundred prison guards hostage.