The head of Ecuador’s prison system and the country’s armed forces chief have resigned following a fresh gang fight which left 68 inmates dead in a jail in the city of Guayaquil. The deadly fight happened at the same prison where 119 inmates were killed in September, also in gang warfare.
It took 900 police officers to restore order after the latest incident.
The spike in prison violence has cast a shadow over the first six months in office of President Guillermo Lasso.
In a BBC interview earlier this month, President Lasso said that prison guards needed to be armed in order to be able to confront highly organised gang members.
“There is no way that prison guards who only carry batons can confront mafias which have drones and explosives,” he said.