9 inmates slain in prison riot
A prison riot between rival gangs left nine inmates dead and 20 more wounded, Venezuelan media said.
The fighting began Friday morning with gunfire in the San Fernando de Apure lockup in central Venezuela, according to El Nacional newspaper.
The uprising was controlled with the help of more than 100 national guard and police agents, it said.
Like in other countries in the region, violence is common in Venezuela’s overcrowded and understaffed prisons.
Of the country’s nearly 20,000 inmates, about 500 were killed and more than 1,000 wounded last year in riots and other violence, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons watchdog group.
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