Rebels Storm Prison, Free 320 Convicts

About 200 leftist rebels stormed a prison in the southwest, freeing more than 320 convicts and killing two guards and two inmates, authorities said. Rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia blew up the walls of San Isidro prison on the outskirts of the city of Popayan and poured into the main compound in a hail of gunfire. Police said that 35 escaped convicts were recaptured but that the remainder, including convicted guerrillas and other “high-risk” prisoners, remained on the run. The rebel-led mass escape was the latest in a string of incidents that have highlighted flawed security, chronic overcrowding and rampant violence in Colombian prisons.