54 reported dead in Venezuela jail riot
Source: Agencies |
January 27, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
VENEZUELAN media reported that dozens were killed in a bloody prison riot, and the government said it was investigating.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro called the violence tragic early yesterday on television and said the authorities had launched an investigation.
He and other officials did not give a death toll from the riot Friday at Uribana prison in the central city of Barquisimeto.
The newspaper Ultimas Noticias reported on its website that 54 were killed. The television channel Globovision reported at least 50 killed and about 90 injured. Both cited Ruy Medina, the director of Central Hospital in the city.
Penitentiary Service Minister Iris Varela said earlier the riot broke out when inmates attacked National Guard troops attempting an inspection.
Varela said the violence had affected prisoners and officials, but said the authorities would hold off until control had been re-established to confirm the toll. She said troops were sent in to search the prison after reports of clashes between groups of inmates.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles condemned the government's handling of the country's overcrowded and violent prisons. "Our country's prisons are an example of the incapacity of this government," Capriles said.
It was the latest in a series of riots in the country's prisons. In August, 25 people were killed when inmates fought a gun battle inside Yare I prison, south of Caracas.
Uribana prison was built to hold up to 850 inmates but currently has 1,400, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a watchdog group.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro called the violence tragic early yesterday on television and said the authorities had launched an investigation.
He and other officials did not give a death toll from the riot Friday at Uribana prison in the central city of Barquisimeto.
The newspaper Ultimas Noticias reported on its website that 54 were killed. The television channel Globovision reported at least 50 killed and about 90 injured. Both cited Ruy Medina, the director of Central Hospital in the city.
Penitentiary Service Minister Iris Varela said earlier the riot broke out when inmates attacked National Guard troops attempting an inspection.
Varela said the violence had affected prisoners and officials, but said the authorities would hold off until control had been re-established to confirm the toll. She said troops were sent in to search the prison after reports of clashes between groups of inmates.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles condemned the government's handling of the country's overcrowded and violent prisons. "Our country's prisons are an example of the incapacity of this government," Capriles said.
It was the latest in a series of riots in the country's prisons. In August, 25 people were killed when inmates fought a gun battle inside Yare I prison, south of Caracas.
Uribana prison was built to hold up to 850 inmates but currently has 1,400, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a watchdog group.
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