Ecuador prison violence leaves at least 11 dead

Relatives of inmates wait for news about their loved ones outside the prison in Guayaquil, after Ecuador's government on Tuesday declared a 60-day state of emergency throughout the country's prisons and authorized armed forces to retake control of jails, following a wave of violence that left 18 dead over the weekend, in Guayaquil, Ecuador July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Vicente Gaibor del Pino

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's police said on Wednesday they had recovered 11 bodies and 29 body parts after retaking control of various cell-blocks at a prison in Guayaquil where members of different criminal groups fought over the weekend.

The forensic effort at the Penitenciaría del Litoral prison is continuing to determine the official death toll, Cesar Zapata, the police director of citizen security and public order told journalists.