Ecuador Declares Prison Emergency After 118 Killed in Riot

Women hug while waiting for some information about their relatives who are inmates at Litoral Penitentiary, after a prison riot, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Sept. 29, 2021. Angel DeJesus/AP Photo

QUITO, Ecuador—Ecuador’s president has declared a state of emergency in the prison system following a battle among gang members in a coastal lockup that killed at least 118 people and injured 79 in what authorities say was the worst prison bloodbath ever in the country.

Officials said at least five of the dead were found to have been beheaded.