Venezuelan prison riot leaves 4 dead, 10 injured

CNN.com Friday, April 4, 2003 Posted: 1905 GMT ( 3:05 AM HKT)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A gunfight between inmates in a central Venezuelan prison left four dead and 10 injured Friday, police said.

The rioting broke out after prisoners in the medium security section tried to enter the maximum security area of Uribana prison in Lara state, 175 miles (280 kilometers) south of Caracas, said state police officer Victor Alvarado.

National Guard troops were dispatched to restore order. The injured prisoners were taken to a nearby hospital.

Riots are common in Venezuela's 32 overcrowded and understaffed prisons, where almost half of inmates are in pre-trial detention.

There were 244 deaths and more than 1,200 injuries in prisons between October 2001 and September 2002, according to the U.S. State Department 2002 Human Rights Report. Most of the deaths resulted from fighting between prisoners, the report said.