17 killed in Guatemala maximum security prison violence

Seventeen people have been killed in fighting inside a maximum security prison in Guatemala, officials said yesterday as hundreds of police moved to take control of the facility.

Officials said they would wait for reinforcements before entering the jail as the security forces were now outnumbered four-to-one by the rioters.

Mr Esquivel said the fight apparently erupted between members of the Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs and fellow inmates who do not belong to the gangs.

According to BBC, the jail is notorious for overcrowding and violence.

Elmer Sosa, the Deputy Interior Minister, confirmed that some of the inmates had guns.

“We are coordinating with prosecutors on an investigation”, Sosa said.

He said there were reports that convicted gang members had clashed with inmates without any gang affiliation after visiting hours on Sunday.

The facility houses over 3,000 inmates, even though it is only created to hold 600.

Sosa juggled yet another theory saying the inmates may have turned violent after prison guards thwarted a jailbreak attempt.

Local daily Prensa Libre reported that authorities thought the riot could have also been an escape attempt that was intercepted by guards.

A fight at Guatemala’s Granja de Rehabilitación Canada prison has left six inmates dead and wounded several others.