Cyprus Mail
AmericasWorld

Forty-nine dead in prison riot in Colombia, prisons agency says

a mob sets fire to the palace of justice in the colombian city of tulua
File photo: Tulua, Colombia EPA-EFE/Ernesto Guzman Jr

Forty-nine inmates died during an overnight riot in a prison in the southwestern Colombian city of Tulua, the head of the national prisons agency said early on Tuesday.

“It is a tragic and disastrous event,” General Tito Castellanos, the head of the INPEC agency, told local Caracol Radio, adding that the prison had a total number of 1,267 inmates.

It was not immediately clear what caused the riot

Colombian President Ivan Duque, who is on a visit to Portugal, said on Twitter the incident would be investigated.

“We regret the events in the prison in Tulua, Valle del Cauca. I am in touch with (General Tito Castellanos) and I have given instructions to carry forward investigations that allow us to clarify this terrible situation,” Duque said.

The Andean country released some prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic after some two dozen inmates were killed during protests in 2020 against crowded conditions and lack of services in jail.

Hundreds have died in prisons in neighboring Ecuador over the last year, in what the government there says is violence connected to drug gang competition and which it has failed to quell. 

Follow the Cyprus Mail on Google News

Related Posts

Authorities warned of ship approach moments before Baltimore bridge collapse

Reuters News Service

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it launched dozens of rockets after Israeli strikes

Reuters News Service

Trump’s media company surges for second day after stellar debut

Reuters News Service

Migrant crossings to UK hit new record, heaping pressure on Sunak

Reuters News Service

Israeli strikes on Rafah raise fear assault could begin

Reuters News Service

Officials board ship that hit Baltimore bridge, divers search for bodies

Reuters News Service