Ecuador lowers death toll from prison violence to 62

FILE PHOTO: A soldier closes the entrance door of the prison after prisoners were killed and injured in overnight violence at Penitenciaria del Litoral prison, in Guayaquil, Ecuador November 13, 2021. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos

QUITO/GUAYAQUIL (Reuters) - Ecuadorean authorities on Tuesday lowered the death toll to 62 from violence at the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison over the weekend, but said areas of the facility remain out of their control.

The government has blamed bloody confrontations at the prison, located in the city of Guayaquil, on gang competition to control jails and drug trafficking routes.