Venezuela prison riot leaves 47 dead, 75 wounded

CARACAS: A prison riot has left at least 47 dead and 75 wounded in western Venezuela, a country where NGOs and inmates´ families regularly denounce unsanitary conditions, violence and overcrowding behind bars.

The Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) rights group provided the figures for the riot, which happened Friday afternoon at the Los Llanos prison center in Guanare city. Parliamentary Deputy Maria Beatriz Martinez, who represents Portuguesa state where the prison is located, said: “At the moment we have been able to confirm 47 dead and 75 wounded.”

Martinez and the NGO said all of the dead were detainees. According to an army report on Friday, the disruption started when inmates began destroying “the security fences around the perimeter” in a “massive escape attempt.” It also said the prison’s director was wounded. Martinez refuted that account, stating the uprising was staged by a group of prisoners.