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Relatives of the inmate gathered outside the prison after the outbreak broke out. Photo: Freddy Rodriguez / STRINGER / REUTERS
47 inmates were killed and at least 75 people were injured in a riot at a prison in western Venezuela on Friday. A group that works for prisoners’ rights calls it a “massacre.”
The riots took place in the crowded Los Llanos prison in Guanare, in the state of Portuguesa, and only 17 were reported dead.
“We can currently confirm 47 dead and 75 wounded,” Venezuela’s National Assembly María Beatriz Martínez told the AFP news agency on Saturday night.
In addition to the dead and wounded prisoners, a National Guard officer must have been wounded in a grenade explosion and a prison guard stabbed with a knife.
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The reason for the uprising should be that the inmates demanded that their families be allowed to bring them food, despite the restrictions imposed by the crown epidemic.
The UN Human Rights Group writes on Twitter that they are deeply concerned about prison violence:
“We call on the authorities to initiate a thorough investigation, address overcrowding in prisons, and guarantee fundamental rights.”
The prison was built for 750 prisoners, but now has 2,500 inmates, according to Carolina Girón in the OVP group that works for inmate rights.
According to AFP, they call the event a “massacre”.
She says inmates are unhappy because they are not allowed to visit and that they are not given food or water due to restrictions imposed on the crown epidemic.
