Horrific prison massacre

Initial reports indicated that this Venezuelan detention center was holding only 105 prisoners, and that as many as 37 of them had died.

Inside a prison in Venezuela. Photo: AFP

According to the New York Post, at least 37 prisoners were killed in a violent riot at a detention center in Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas state, southern Venezuela.

Venezuela's Attorney General's office said 14 prison staff members were injured in the riot, and that authorities are investigating the incident, which is believed to have occurred late on the night of August 16.

Earlier, the state governor, Liberio Guarulla, confirmed the incident, which he described as a "massacre." At the time of the riot, the detention center was holding 105 prisoners, and weeks prior, there had been reports that the prison's facilities were unable to accommodate the number of inmates.

Governor Guarulla admitted to Reuters that the prison morgue was "overwhelmed" after the massacre.

Special police teams were deployed to quell clashes between prisoners belonging to rival gangs.

The New York Post quoted Jose Mejías, a member of the Puerto Ayacucho city council, as saying that the prisoners were armed and resisted the intervention of the special forces teams.

The identities of the deceased prisoners have not been revealed, but initial reports indicate they died as a result of the special forces' crackdown and from killing each other.

This was the deadliest riot at a detention center in Puerto Ayacucho since 2013, when a similar incident killed 61 inmates.

Images of riots at a prison in Puerto Ayacucho. Photo: Twitter

Prisons in Venezuela, like many in South and Central American countries, are often rife with violent tension due to the dominance and rivalry of criminal gangs.

Carlos Nieto, coordinator of the NGO Una Ventana a la Libertad, said that the prison system in Venezuela is currently not functioning well because "people who should only be detained for 48 hours end up in prison for years without being brought to trial."

According to official figures, Venezuela, a South American nation of over 31 million people, has 15,000 criminal prisoners, but the Venezuelan Prison Observer group estimates that around 50,000 people are currently being held in various detention facilities across the country.

However, the organization Una Ventana a la Libertad reported that by the end of 2016, the number of prisoners in Venezuela had reached 88,000, while prison capacity was only sufficient for 35,000. Therefore, as many as 33,000 criminal prisoners were placed in detention centers such as the one in Puerto Ayacucho.

Carlos Nieto stated that in detention centers like these, the capacity sometimes exceeds the permitted number by four times.

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper