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| Seven inmates killed in Venezuelan prison battle |
| By Reuters |
| Published: 11/17/2003 |
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Seven Venezuelan prisoners were shot or stabbed to death during a riot started by inmates battling for control of the Vista Hermosa jail in southeastern Bolivar state, officials said last Monday. "We have seven dead from the prison population and two security officers wounded. It was fight between gangs over internal control of the prison," national prisons director Col. Carlos Alberto Sutrun told Reuters. National Guard troops were deployed to control the violence, which was sparked after gangs moved to consolidate power following a transfer of inmates, Sutrun said. Gang feuds, appalling conditions and the slow pace of court appearances often spark violence inside Venezuela's overcrowded prisons. A recent U.S. State Department report found 48 percent of all prisoners are still awaiting trial. Three inmates were shot dead last month at Vista Hermosa -- Beautiful View in Spanish -- when prisoners from one section attacked prisoners in another cellblock after accusing them of mugging relatives during visiting hours. More than 240 inmates were killed and nearly 1,300 wounded in prison violence between October 2001 and September last year, according to government statistics. |
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