Construction of a new maximum-security prison in Ecuador that began in June is about 30% completed, according to the director-general of the Latin American country's prison management service. The facility one hour from the port city of Guayaquil will include maximum security pavilions and is designed to house 800 of the most dangerous drug lords in the country, which has declared war against organized crime. Ecuador's prisons are among the most dangerous in the world, and many have been taken over by drug gangs. The penitentiaries have been under military control since January, when President Daniel Noboa declared a state of "internal armed conflict" after a brutal wave of violence, sparked by the jailbreak of a powerful crime boss. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES