Maria Daniela Icaza, the director of Ecuador's largest prison, the Litoral Penitentiary, was killed in an armed attack while traveling near Guayaquil, marking the second murder of a prison official in less than two weeks. The attack, which also left another prison officer injured, occurred on a road leading to Daule as Icaza was being transported to the hospital. The Litoral Penitentiary, notorious for its violent conditions and gang-related clashes, houses over 6,000 inmates and has witnessed numerous massacres in recent years. Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, has declared a state of 'internal armed conflict' due to the escalating violence attributed to drug gangs, with the country experiencing a record homicide rate of 47 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. The military has been deployed to manage prison security amid this crisis, which has turned Ecuador from a relatively peaceful nation into one of the most dangerous in Latin America. Investigations are underway to identify the assailants responsible for Icaza's death.