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LATIN AMERICA |
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Prison Riot in Venezuela Leaves Two Dead
CARACAS – At least two inmates were killed
and two others were injured in a riot at a
prison in central Venezuela, officials said.
The national director of penitentiary
services in the Interior Ministry, Consuelo
Cerrada, said that the two injured inmates
were treated at medical centers near the
General Penitentiary of Venezuela and that
they are now back in the prison.
In a statement to state-run VTV television,
Cerrada said that the causes of the riot are
still unknown, adding that it broke out
Thursday afternoon and forced prison
personnel to leave the premises.
“The situation has calmed down” and the jail
is in the custody of the Bolivarian National
Guard (GNB, the militarized national police
force) and of prison personnel, the director
said.
According to the local press, the riot broke
out when elements of the GNB tried to
inspect the inmates, who rejected the
measure by opening fire on the guardsmen.
Venezuela’s penitentiary system, considered
one of the most violent in the region, is
made up of 29 prisons and 16 detention
centers that house a total of 20,000
inmates, according to official data.
In 2008 a total of 422 inmates died in acts
of violence and Venezuelan jails, according
to figures from the Venezuelan Prison
Observatory, a non-governmental
organization. EFE |
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