Struggle to Halt Prison Riots Ends Peacefully

After 27 days of struggle, police in Guatire, Venezuela succeeded in quelling a violent prison riot. Since the middle of June, when the riot began, over 20 people have been killed as a result of the stand-off. The uprising began when mafias inside the prison turned a riot in the facility into a “gunfight between thousands of troops and inmates.” During the initial assults, four inmates were shot and killed by soldiers as they attempted to escape. After extensive negotiations, control of the prison transferred peacefully to Venezuelan authorities. After identifying the main orchestrators of the uprising are now held in custody by the National Guard, separate from the other inmates. Investigations also revealed a prison warden, a National Guard captain, and seven other officials as suspected suppliers of arms and drugs to the prisoners. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, prison violence is a major concern in Latin America; in Venezuela from 2005-2009, 1,865 inmates alone died as a result of violence in prisons.