31 Dead in Four Guatemala Prison Riots

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31 Dead in Four Guatemala Prison Riots

Tuesday August 16, 2005 3:46 AM

By SERGIO DE LEON

Associated Press Writer

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Gang members staged simultaneous riots in at least seven Guatemalan prisons on Monday, attacking rivals with grenades, guns and knives in coordinated chaos that left 31 inmates dead, officials said.

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Human Rights Prosecutor Sergio Morales said there was evidence that police had helped gang members smuggle weapons into El Hoyon.

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In May 2004, a fire swept through a prison in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, killing 107 inmates, most of them Mara Salvatrucha members.

That fire came 13 months after some suspected gang members were locked in their cells, doused with gasoline and set ablaze during a riot at the El Porvenir prison farm near the Honduran city of La Ceiba. Nearly 70 people, including prisoners, visitors and guards, were killed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5212788,00.html