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At least 25 dead in clashes at Venezuelan prison | At least 25 dead in clashes at Venezuelan prison |
(32 minutes later) | |
At least 25 inmates have died after clashes broke out at a jail inside a Venezuelan police station, according to a rights group. | At least 25 inmates have died after clashes broke out at a jail inside a Venezuelan police station, according to a rights group. |
At least 20 police officers were wounded, Una Ventana a la Libertad said. | At least 20 police officers were wounded, Una Ventana a la Libertad said. |
The jail, in Acarigua, is designed to hold 250 people but currently has around 540 inmates, the Venezuelan Prison Observatory said. | The jail, in Acarigua, is designed to hold 250 people but currently has around 540 inmates, the Venezuelan Prison Observatory said. |
Police said grenades were detonated during the incident. | |
Oscar Valero, citizen security officer for Portuguesa state, told reporters that there was an "attempted escape" and a fight "among rival gangs". | |
Humberto Prado from the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory rights group told Reuters news agency: "How is it that there was a confrontation between prisoners and police, but there are only dead prisoners? And if the prisoners had weapons, how did those weapons get in?" | |
Mr Prado said that the violence broke out when authorities entered the block to carry out searches and remove female visitors. | |
Venezuela has had a number of violent prison clashes in recent years. In March 2018, 68 inmates died in a fire at a police jail. | Venezuela has had a number of violent prison clashes in recent years. In March 2018, 68 inmates died in a fire at a police jail. |
In August 2017, at least 37 people were killed when a riot broke out in a prison in southern Venezuela. | In August 2017, at least 37 people were killed when a riot broke out in a prison in southern Venezuela. |