At least 15 inmates were killed and 14 injured during clashes at Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, one of the country’s most violent prisons. The violence erupted early Tuesday in a pavilion and was contained by the afternoon, with authorities conducting a large-scale search. The Attorney General’s Office plans to file murder charges against at least nine inmates. Ecuador’s prison system has faced escalating violence with hundreds of deaths in recent years due to gang conflicts. Overcrowded prisons often see inmates controlling parts of facilities and running criminal networks. Litoral Penitentiary has been the site of previous deadly incidents, including a 2021 riot that claimed over 100 lives and last year’s multi-day uprising where more than 30 were killed. In recent months, the facility’s director, María Daniela Icaza, was murdered, and notorious gang leader José Adolfo “Fito” Macías escaped, leading to a nationwide state of emergency and military deployment by President Daniel Noboa.