Venezuela Prison Riot Leaves 58 Dead, 46 Still Hospitalized

[Judi Lynn]

Venezuela Prison Riot Leaves 58 Dead, 46 Still Hospitalized
By Jose Orozco - 2013-01-27T23:10:15Z.

A battle between national guard forces and prisoners at Venezuela’s Uribana prison in western Lara state has left 58 dead, prisons Minister Iris Varela said today.

Forty-six people remain hospitalized and 49 have been released from hospital care and remain under medical supervision, Varela said on state television. Venezuelan authorities completed the evacuation of Uribana today after the riot on Jan. 25, Varela wrote earlier today in a message on her Twitter account.

“We have a regrettable balance of 57 people who died here at the prison as well as later as a product of injuries incurred here, plus the body of the person we found who was burned on these premises,” Varela said.

Fighting broke out Jan. 25 between guards and inmates prior to a planned search of the prison, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said yesterday.

“There was a situation of tragic confusion that we greatly regret,” Maduro said on state television. “The plan to reform our prisons will continue to ensure they aren’t ruled by violence, Mafia, drugs and death, as they have been for a long time.”

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-27/venezuela-finishes-prison-evacuation-after-61-die-minister-says.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Venezuela transfers inmates from prison after riot kills 58

Venezuela transfers inmates from prison after riot kills 58

By Girish Gupta

URIBANA, Venezuela | Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:01pm EST

(Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities transferred inmates out of a prison on Sunday following a bloody riot two days earlier that killed 58 people and again highlighted chaos in the country's jails.

It was the fourth high-profile incident in 18 months in a penal system that has experienced repeated fatal clashes and shootouts. Venezuela's prisons house three times the number of inmates they were designed to hold.

The violence broke out at the Uribana jail as cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez continues receiving treatment in Cuba and Vice President Nicolas Maduro - the notional head of state - visited him in Havana then flew to a summit in Chile.

In surprisingly candid comments to state TV, Prisons Minister Iris Varela acknowledged that weapons-smuggling enabled by corrupt prison workers had let armed gangs effectively control the run-down facility, near the city of Barquisimeto in southwestern Venezuela.

"It was nearly impossible to operate a penitentiary here given the level of violence," Varela told a news conference. "This is part of the corruption of some officials. We have opened battle lines against them."

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-venezuela-prison-idUSBRE90Q0GM20130128?rpc=401

[joshcryer]

2. Good to see an admission by the state of the human rights violating prisons.

And an admission of the corruption of some chavistas.