© AFP/File | Tuesday’s gang battle in Chimaltenago marked the third deadly prison riot in two months in Guatemala
GUATEMALA CITY: A battle between rival gangs in an overcrowded prison near Guatemala’s capital left six inmates dead and another six wounded, officials said Tuesday.
The overnight violence in the penitentiary in the town of Chimaltenago, 60 kilometers (40 miles) west of Guatemala City, was the third deadly prison riot in two months in the Central American country.
“The fight was caused by rivalry between gangs and we have determined that six inmates died,” the head of Guatemala’s prison service, Alexander Toro, told reporters.
Special teams of police were sent in and retook control of the facility, which was built for 150 convicts but which houses 520, including 39 women.
On November 29 last year a clash between gangs in a prison south of the capital left 17 inmates dead. On January 1 this year, a riot in a northeastern penitentiary left eight dead. -AFP