Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

February 16, 2026

Ecuador: prison deaths climb again despite Noboa security strategy, data shows

News

America Crises Health Violence Ecuador

After hundreds of Ecuadorean incarcerated people were killed in prison riots in 2021 and 2022, President Daniel Noboa made restoring order in jails one of the central pillars of his security strategy when he took office in 2023.

January 13, 2026

Ecuador: breaking down the prison crisis

Interview

America Crises Health Drugs Overcrowding Torture Violence Social ties Ecuador

Ecuador is facing a penitentiary crisis marked by massacres and the militarisation of its prison system, a combination that has brought the institution to its breaking point. The consequences are disastrous, both within and outside of prisons. Interview.

September 26, 2025

Ecuador: over 30 incarcerated people killed in three days, the country’s prisons implode

News

South America Drugs Violence Ecuador

The Ecuadorian Penitentiary Service reported that rival incarcerated people killed at least 17 people during a predawn assault on September 25 at the Esmeraldas prison near the Colombian border.

September 22, 2025

Ecuador: prison riot leaves 14 dead, 14 wounded

News

South America Drugs Violence Ecuador

A prison riot caused by gang fighting in southern Ecuador has left 14 people dead and another 14 wounded, according to a local police chief.

July 10, 2025

Ecuador: new Bukele-style supermax prison advances as government battles gang control

News

South America Facilities Overcrowding Ecuador

Ecuador has finished 35% of a new maximum-security prison on the country’s coast, according to the national prison authority.

June 6, 2024

Ecuador: gang members are rounded up in prison

News

South America Material conditions Violence Ecuador

Military commanders were seen raiding and rounding up gang members in an Ecuador prison searching for weapons and drugs amid a spate of gang war violence and murders within the compound.

February 12, 2024

Ecuador: a judge orders investigation into alleged torture in prisons

News

South America Justice Material conditions Torture Ecuador

An Ecuadorian judge has ordered the Ombudsman’s Office to investigate alleged acts of torture by the military in several prisons in the country. The move comes under the state of emergency enacted by the government at the beginning of January to end a prison riot crisis.

January 19, 2024

Ecuador: security forces launch major prison operation

News

South America Protest Violence Ecuador

Security forces have launched an operation in a major prison complex in the port city of Guayaquil. Soldiers and police officers have entered the facility and say they have restored order following a week of rioting in jails across the country.

January 9, 2024

Ecuador: state of emergency declared amid prison chaos

News

South America Justice Violence Ecuador

Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa on Monday declared a state of emergency for 60 days a day after the country’s most-wanted prisoner disappeared from the jail where he was being held.

July 27, 2023

Ecuador: recovering remains after prison violence, death toll unclear

News

South America Violence Ecuador

October 14, 2022

Ecuador: seis presos heridos deja un motín en cárcel

News

Central America and the Caribbean Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

October 14, 2022

Équateur : onze blessés lors de nouveaux "affrontements" dans une prison

News

Central America and the Caribbean Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

September 30, 2022

Ecuador: UN Torture Prevention Body to visit the country amid prison crisis

News

Justice Facilities Ecuador

The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) will visit Ecuador from 25 September to 1 October 2022 in light of recent prison riots and violence.Rights experts from the SPT were alarmed by the ongoing violence within Ecuador’s prison system, which has led to the death of hundreds of inmates i…

July 19, 2022

Ecuador: al menos 13 muertos por una nueva masacre entre reclusos en una cárcel

News

Central America and the Caribbean Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

July 19, 2022

Ecuador: thirteen killed in prison riot

News

Central America and the Caribbean Violence Ecuador

Thirteen prisoners were killed at a prison in the Ecuadorean city of Santo Domingo on Monday, Ecuador’s prison agency said, the latest incident of deadly jail violence in the Andean country. The government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso attributes prison violence to fights between gangs…

July 19, 2022

Équateur : treize morts dans un nouvel affrontement en prison

News

Central America and the Caribbean Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

June 2, 2022

Ecuador: 100 policías se incorporan para reducir hacinamiento en cárceles de Ecuador

News

South America Overcrowding Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

May 19, 2022

Écuador : Al menos 43 presos mueren en un nuevo enfrentamiento

News

South America Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

May 18, 2022

Équateur : Le gouvernement n’arrive pas à enrayer les massacres à répétition dans les prisons

News

South America Justice Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

April 21, 2022

Équateur : des bains de sang dans les prisons, le gouvernement impuissant

News

America Central America and the Caribbean Drugs Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

December 7, 2021

Ecuador: UN experts call for urgent action to stop prison violence

News

South America Protest Violence Ecuador

UN human rights experts today called on Ecuador to take urgent action to prevent further loss of life in the country’s jails following a series of riots which have left more than 280 inmates dead and hundreds injured this year.

November 25, 2021

Ecuador: La realidad de las mujeres transgénero en las cárceles

News

South America LGBTQI Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

October 14, 2021

Ecuador: Papa Francisco lamenta violencia en cárcel

News

South America Violence Ecuador

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

October 13, 2021

Ecuador: agony of brutal prison massacre endures for bereaved relatives

News

South America Protest Violence Ecuador

At least 119 inmates died in a Guayaquil jail after local gangs’ links with Mexican cartels brought a new level of horror.