Crime

14 killed as rival Ecuadoran inmates fight with guns, explosives

Published

9 months ago

September 22, 2025

571 Views

Inmates in Ecuador fought each other with guns and explosives in a riot that left 13 prisoners and a guard dead, police said.

The mayhem was the latest in a series of bloodbaths to engulf gang-ridden, overcrowded prisons in a once-peaceful country now at ground zero of the violent Latin American drug trade.

An unknown number of inmates escaped in the clash between rival gangs, during which another 14 people were injured, a masked police officer identified as commander Colonel William Calle told the Ecuavisa channel.

Thirteen inmates have been recaptured.

Calle said gunfire broke out in the early morning hours, alerting prison guards and police who rushed to that part of the prison in Machala, in southwest Ecuador near the Peruvian border.

One guide was killed as he entered, and others were taken hostage, said the officer.

Calle said the confrontation lasted about 40 minutes, during which inmates “fired guns, threw bombs, and grenades.”

The dead inmates belonged to the rival Los Choneros and Los Lobos gangs, two of the biggest drug trafficking groups in Ecuador.

Police said the violence was the result of “fighting between gangs” in a facility housing double the number of inmates it was designed for.

Organized crime has transformed Ecuador, a country of about 17 million, into one of the most violent nations in the world.

Calle said “control has already been regained” over the prison.

He did not specify the fate of the hostages or how many inmates were on the run.

– ‘Internal armed conflict’ –

Nestled between the globe’s top two cocaine exporters — Colombia and Peru — Ecuador has seen violence spiral in recent years as rival gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control.

More than 70 percent of all cocaine produced in the world now passes through Ecuador’s ports, according to government data.

Gang wars have largely played out inside the country’s prisons, where some 500 inmates have been killed since February 2021, often in gruesome fashion — their bodies dismembered and burnt.

Ecuador’s biggest prison massacre happened in 2021, when over 100 inmates died in clashes in the port of Guayaquil in the southwest.

Prisoners went live on social media to broadcast the violence, showing decapitated and charred bodies.

Last year, gang members took scores of prison guards hostage after the jailbreak of narco boss, Jose Adolfo Macias, aka “Fito,” while allies on the outside detonated bombs and held a television presenter at gunpoint live on air.

President Daniel Noboa declared a “state of internal armed conflict and Fito — the boss of Los Choneros — was recaptured in June.

He had been serving a 34-year sentence since 2011 for involvement in organized crime, drug trafficking, and murder, but continued pulling the strings of the criminal underworld from behind bars.

Videos emerged of Fito holding wild parties, some with fireworks, illustrating the lawlessness of Ecuador’s prisons.

Los Choneros has ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, Colombia’s Gulf Clan — the world’s largest cocaine exporter — and Balkan mafias, according to the Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory.

AFP

Related Topics:Ecuador Prison Featured Fight Guns

Up Next

U.S. Reaffirms Support for Nigerian Students at 2025 Education Fair in Abuja

Don't Miss

Delta Police Bust Armed Robbery Gang, Recover AK-47 Rifle

Click to comment

Crime

Police arrest 10 suspects over killing of Benue Miyetti Allah’s chairman

The MACBAN chairman and Yakubu Isa were reportedly ambushed and killed at Okudu community in Otukpo LGA on Friday, June 26, 2026 by armed men, while returning from a peace meeting called by the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in the Idekpa, Ohimini LGA.

Published

1 day ago

June 28, 2026

OCHEFA

22 Views

The Benue State Police Command has declared that it arrested 10 suspects in connection with the killing of the Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Benue State, Ardo Risku Mohammed, and one Yakubu Isa.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Udeme Edet, confirmed the arrest, emphasing that the arrests marked significant progress in the investigation into the attack.

The suspects were apprehended on the night of June 27, 2026, during a coordinated operation by the Command’s tactical teams in Otukpo Local Government Area, following what police described as intensive intelligence gathering and tactical operations.

According to him, the suspects arrested were 25-year-old Titus Thyodenda, 20-year-old Utibe Sam, 18-year-old Owoicho Ameh, 21-year-old Sunday Useni, 46-year-old Sunday Useni, 46-year-old Sunday Ogbanje, 23-year-old Daniel Raphael, 24-year-old Adokole John, 32-year-old Samuel Ogazi, 25-year-old Agbo Daniel, and 30-year-old Onazi James.

Crime

Operation Whirl Stroke Troops Foil Terrorist Attack at Tor Donga Yam Market (Images)

Published

2 days ago

June 28, 2026

Charles Flames

35 Views

……Recover Arms and Ammunition

Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke, in collaboration with operatives of the Benue State Civil Protection Guard, on Sunday, 28 June 2026, neutralised two suspects and recovered their weapons at Tor Donga Yam Market in Benue State

A statement by the Acting Media Information Officer
HQ JTF Operation Whirl Stroke Lieutenant Ahmad Zubairu said the team received a distress call from the area.

He said on arrival, the troops made contact with the terrorists and engaged them decisively.

He named the two terrorists,as Dantaraba and Golozo who were neutralised.

Following the operation, troops recovered one AK-47 rifle, one AK-47 magazine, one damaged pistol, one pistol magazine, six rounds of 7.62 mm NATO ammunition, nine rounds of 9 mm pistol ammunition, one ATM card, one Moniepoint ATM card amongst other sundry items.

The successful operation ensured the continued safety of traders and residents, allowing socio-economic activities at Tor Donga Yam Market to proceed without disruption or fear of terrorist attacks.

The Force Commander, Joint Task Force Operation WHIRL STROKE, Major General Moses Gara, commended the troops for their professionalism, resilience and swift response, which prevented what could have resulted in significant civilian casualties and disruption of commercial activities. The cooperation of the Civil Protection Guards was also commended in ridding Benue State of criminality.

Major General Gara also expressed appreciation to members of the public for promptly providing credible information. He urged residents to sustain the cooperation with security agencies, stressing that security remains a collective responsibility.

Crime

Benue Governor Alia Condemns Killing of MACBAN Chairman, Orders Immediate Investigation

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Charles Flames

54 Views

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has expressed deep shock and sadness over the killing of Alhaji Ardo Risku, the Benue State Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), and his friend.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, the Governor described the incident as a heinous act that occurred at a critical time when the state is making significant progress toward peace and stability across various local government areas.

Governor Alia views the killing not merely as a personal tragedy but as a deliberate attempt to undermine the hard-earned peace and ongoing reconciliation efforts his administration has been fostering.

“It is deeply regrettable that this unfortunate incident occurred shortly after a security meeting,” the Governor noted. He emphasized that the murder of any community leader or peace advocate represents a serious setback to the dialogue between various stakeholders in the state.

In response, Governor Alia issued firm directives to all relevant security agencies:

To immediately launch a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killing.
To leave no stone unturned in identifying and apprehending the perpetrators, bringing them to justice swiftly to deter others seeking to destabilize the state.
To enhance security measures to better protect community leaders involved in security and peace-building initiatives.

The Governor urged members of MACBAN and the general public to remain calm and law-abiding, warning against allowing agents of chaos to incite further violence.

“We must not allow those who profit from chaos to succeed in inciting further violence or disrupting the peace we have taken time to build,” Alia said.

He extended his heartfelt condolences to the family of Alhaji Ardo Risku and the entire MACBAN community.

“Our administration remains resolute: Benue is a home for peace, and we will not allow the shadows of the past to eclipse the bright future we are currently building,” the statement concluded.