SAA event in El Oro, Machala area, Ecuador on Sun 9th November 2025

On 9 November 2025, in Machala (El Oro), prisoners clashed inside a prison during a riot that left four dead and 43 wounded in the Zaruma and Escuelita detention cellblocks. Later, 30 other inmates were found dead by means of asphyxiation by hanging, 27 of them members of the Los Lobos Gang held as collateral. Approximately 250 police and military personnel were deployed and they reported gunfire, burned mattresses and explosions in several cellblocks. Upon regaining control of the situation, they seized four firearms including rifles obtained from a complicit prison guard, 67 ammunition rounds, two cell phones and six explosive devices. The clash happened because some prisoners will be relocated to the new maximum security prison in Santa Elena. It is likely the hangings were committed against the prisoners, rather than a mass suicide. Among the dead were inmates with criminal records for robbery, drug trafficking, possession of firearms and other crimes. Some inmates were Venezuelan, others Colombian, and two of the injured victims were police officers. The clashes originated from an internal struggle between the Los Lobos gang and the Los Lobos Box gangs (described as Sao Box gang). Seven inmates and one prison guard were arrested for their involvement. The clash happened over the span of seven hours and it was classified as a massacre. At least 31 fatalities.