International
New clashes in violence-hit Ecuador prison: officials
AFP
New clashes were reported on Tuesday in an Ecuadoran prison where 15 people died in a riot the day before, the state prison administration authority said.
Violence in Ecuador’s prisons, where drug gangs vie for power, is often carried out with knives and sometimes involves beheadings. The unrest has left more than 400 prisoners dead since February 2021.
“There has been a new incident” in the Latacunga prison in the center of Ecuador, around 60 miles (100 kilometers) southeast of Quito, the SNAI prison authority told reporters.
The prison authority had to send in tactical units to re-establish control following Monday’s riot that left at least 15 inmates dead and 33 injured.
SNAI said the most recent clashes took place in a medium-security part of the prison that houses 4,300 inmates and is one of the largest in the country.
The authority said “detonations” had been heard but that police were “containing” the inmates. No deaths have been reported.
Administrative personnel were evacuated from the prison, said SNAI.
Following Monday’s massacre, worried relatives waited outside the prison on Tuesday hoping for information on their loved ones.
“I’m looking for my brother Carlos Bravo. I got here at 6:00 am,” one tearful woman who did not give her name told AFP.
“They told me to come and fetch my brother. I don’t know anything, there’s no list (of the dead), no-one has told me anything.”
A force of 600 police and military personnel entered the prison on Monday to try to retake control from the rioters, authorities said.
Riot sparked by inmate attack
Monday’s riot was allegedly provoked by the murder of Leandro Norero, a 36-year-old suspected drug trafficker known by the alias “El Patron” (the boss).
Norero, who had become one of the leaders of a group of inmates, was arrested last May for allegations of money laundering, in an operation in which $6.4 million, 24 gold bars, firearms and ammunition were allegedly seized.
“From what we can tell, Leandro Norero would be among the victims,” said SNAI assistant director Jorge Flores.
The prosecutor’s office said on Twitter it was working to identify the dead.
Website GK said Monday’s riot broke out after an attack “against Norero and his security, at least six prisoners,” quoting unnamed inmates.
Norero, who was also wanted by Peru, was allegedly a member of the Los Chone Killers gang.
Other gangs such as Los Choneros, Los Lobos and Los Tiguerones also have a major presence in Ecuador’s prison system, from where gang leaders manage the drug trafficking trade.
Norero’s murder could spark further clashes, the interior ministry saying said, adding “we have to be careful.”
The country’s overcrowded prisons contain about 35,000 inmates, many of them members of gangs linked to drug trafficking.
A government committee noted in April that Ecuadorian prisons “are considered warehouses of human beings and torture centers.”
Bordered by Colombia and Peru, the world’s largest cocaine producers, Ecuador serves as a departure port for drug shipments, primarily to the United States and Europe.
In a bid to improve the living conditions in Ecuador’s prisons, President Guillermo Lasso launched an inmate census in August.
During a television interview on Monday, he offered “a message of condolence and solidarity with the families of those who died today in (the prison)”.
International
Five Bodies Found in Ecuador as Police Probe Suspected Gang Turf War
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating the deaths of five people whose bodies were found inside a rural home, in what police believe may be linked to a territorial dispute between organized criminal groups.
The victims, aged between 21 and 30, were discovered Tuesday in the town of La Troncal, in the Andean province of Cañar. Police reported that two of the bodies were bound with wire, while a burned-out vehicle was found outside the residence.
Investigators said graffiti on the walls of the house included messages such as “Lobos territory” and “Lobos active,” suggesting a possible connection to the criminal organization known as Los Lobos.
Police believe the killings were likely the result of a conflict over territorial control between rival gangs.
The discovery came on the same day authorities arrested a former mayor in the neighboring province of Azuay. Officials identified him as the alleged main financial backer of Los Lobos, one of Ecuador’s most powerful criminal organizations.
Ecuador has experienced an unprecedented surge in violence in recent years, driven by criminal groups involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining, kidnapping, and extortion.
According to Insight Crime, the country recorded 51 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025—equivalent to roughly one killing every hour—making it one of the most violent countries in Latin America.
International
Georgia Teen Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Deadly School Shooting
A Georgia teenager who killed four people in a 2024 school shooting was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to the attack.
Colt Gray, now 16, admitted to opening fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) northeast of Atlanta. He was 14 years old at the time of the shooting.
The attack claimed the lives of two students and two teachers, while nine other people were injured. Despite being a minor when the shooting occurred, Gray was prosecuted as an adult.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Nicholas Trimm acknowledged the failures of the teenager’s family but said they did not excuse his actions.
“Your parents failed you. Your family failed you. But that does not absolve you,” the judge said.
Trimm also rejected any suggestion that the shooting was motivated by bullying or personal grievances.
“You were not bullied at Apalachee. This was not driven by hate. You didn’t know anyone at that school. It was simply the desire to commit a notorious act,” he told Gray.
The case also led to the prosecution of the shooter’s father, Colin Gray, who was convicted in March of voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. The case marked one of the first instances in which a parent was held criminally responsible for a mass shooting carried out by their child.
Prosecutors said Colin Gray had given his son an AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas gift in 2023, despite being aware that the teenager had previously threatened to carry out a school shooting.
Authorities said the same rifle was used in the attack less than a year later. Months before the shooting, FBI investigators had alerted local law enforcement after receiving reports of online messages linked to the Gray family’s internet address that referenced plans for a school massacre.
The case reflects growing legal scrutiny in the United States over the responsibility of parents whose children commit acts of gun violence.
In a similar case, the parents of a Michigan teenager who killed four people at his high school in 2021 were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2024 and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 15 years.
According to U.S. health authorities, firearms have been the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in the United States for several years.
International
Portuguese Authorities Seize 2.6 Tons of Cocaine Worth More Than $550 Million in Drug Bust
Italian financial police reported Monday that Portuguese authorities intercepted a speedboat carrying more than 2.6 tons of cocaine, with an estimated street value exceeding $550 million.
Four people — two Spanish nationals, one Albanian citizen, and a man from Gibraltar — were arrested in connection with the operation, according to Italian authorities.
The vessel was intercepted off the coast of Lisbon by Portugal’s maritime police following an investigation led by Italian authorities.
Italian financial police estimated that the seized shipment had a street value of approximately 500 million euros ($570 million), making it one of the largest drug seizures reported in the region in recent years.
Portuguese authorities said the interception took place on Thursday, about 90 kilometers (50 nautical miles) southwest of Cape Espichel, during an operation targeting international drug trafficking routes.
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