The prison battle that led to a gang war

By Samantha Schmidt and Jess Ruliffson

Washington Post April 17, 2024

https://wapo.st/3wosqgg (free to read) or

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/17/ecuador-prison-battles-gangs/

It was the deadliest prison riot in Ecuador's history. On a single day in September 2021, at least 120 people were killed in clashes between rival gangs at the Guayaquil penitentiary. The bloodletting was an early sign of the growing power of the country's gangs and a warning about the kind of extreme violence they could unleash. One inmate, Phoenix, saw the prison battle unfold. Phoenix asked to be identified only by his nickname because of safety concerns.

Behind the growing power of the cartels

This comic is based on interviews with Phoenix and references illustrations drawn by him, along with extensive reporting on Ecuador's prison system and gang violence. Scenes and dialogue reflect his recollections as well as The Washington Post's reporting on the 2021 prison riot in the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil.

The comic is part of a series of stories about the rising power of organized criminal groups in Latin America, the United States' biggest trading partner. The first piece reconstructs the day, earlier this year, when Ecuador's gangs pushed the country into chaos and led a young president to declare a state of "internal armed conflict."

Latin America is producing more than twice as much cocaine as it did a decade ago. Nearly every one of its mainland nations has become a major producer or mover of the drug, feeding booming markets in the United States, Europe and South America.

Organized-crime groups have moved well beyond narcotics. They've created sprawling illicit industries in extortion, migrant smuggling and gold mining. Their power has become so great that they form a new kind of insurgency, infiltrating government operations.