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Venezuelan prison stand-off ends after 27 days | Venezuelan prison stand-off ends after 27 days |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Police in Venezuela have regained control of a prison east of the capital, Caracas, after a stand-off that lasted for 27 days. | Police in Venezuela have regained control of a prison east of the capital, Caracas, after a stand-off that lasted for 27 days. |
More than 800 prisoners left the El Rodeo prison, after some 60 armed prisoners surrendered, officials said. | |
Authorities said that four inmates were shot dead by National Guard troops as they tried to escape. | |
The stand-off began after troops stormed the prison to put an end to violent clashes between rival groups. | The stand-off began after troops stormed the prison to put an end to violent clashes between rival groups. |
More than 25 people died in the mid-June clashes and in subsequent attempts to regain full control of the prison, in the town of Guatire. | More than 25 people died in the mid-June clashes and in subsequent attempts to regain full control of the prison, in the town of Guatire. |
Venezuelan troops eventually took over a part of the jail known as El Rodeo 1. | |
But hundreds of other prisoners remained holed up in the other wing, El Rodeo 2. | |
The authorities said about 60 inmates there were using guns to exert control over fellow prisoners. | |
Nearly a month after the first riots, the Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister, Tareck El Aissami, said some of the armed leaders had agreed to surrender. | |
He said the inmates had been given guarantees that their human rights would be respected. | He said the inmates had been given guarantees that their human rights would be respected. |
"We've managed for all of them to come down to the yards," Mr El Aissami said. "We celebrate the triumph of peace, dialogue." | |
A spokesperson for prisoners' relatives, Grisel Zorrilla, told the Associated Press news agency that the inmates showed signs of dehydration but were generally in good health. | A spokesperson for prisoners' relatives, Grisel Zorrilla, told the Associated Press news agency that the inmates showed signs of dehydration but were generally in good health. |
Hundreds of families remained outside the prison waiting for the latest information on the health and the likely destination of their family members. | |
The government said that the 831 inmates evacuated from El Rodeo were being sent to two other jails, Yare 2 and Tocuyito. | |
Venezuelan prisons are notoriously overcrowded and there has been a series of riots since the beginning of the year. | Venezuelan prisons are notoriously overcrowded and there has been a series of riots since the beginning of the year. |
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights says nearly 500 people died in prison violence last year. | The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights says nearly 500 people died in prison violence last year. |