BOGOTA • A prison riot in Colombia's capital Bogota has left 23 prisoners dead and 83 hurt, the justice minister said, as inmates protested against sanitary conditions amid the global coronavirus outbreak.
Thirty-two injured prisoners are hospitalised, Justice Minister Margarita Cabello said in a video on Sunday, while seven guards were also injured in last Saturday's riot. Two guards are in critical condition.
The country will enter a nationwide lockdown meant to stem infections from tonight. So far, 231 people have been confirmed infected with the disease and two have died.
"Today is a very sad and painful day," Ms Cabello said. "Last night there was a mass criminal escape attempt at the El Modelo prison and riots in various detention centres around the country."
Cellphone videos posted to social media late on Saturday show what appeared to be the inside of the prisons. Some show small fires, others injured prisoners and guards. In one video, a man says the incarcerated have been "abandoned like dogs" amid the virus outbreak.
No prisoners escaped during the riots, Ms Cabello said.
"There is not any sanitary problem that would have caused this plan and these riots. There is not one infection nor any prisoner or custodial or administrative staffer who has coronavirus."
The office of the human rights ombudsman has urged the government to declare a prison emergency which could allow early release for older prisoners. "This way there could be exceptional circumstances that would facilitate releases and temporary rules for those over 60 and with sentences of up to eight years," it tweeted.
Colombia's 132 prisons have an 81,000-inmate capacity but house more than 121,000 prisoners, according to justice ministry data.
The second Colombian to die from the virus was a 70-year-old woman in the city of Cali, the health ministry said on Sunday. Her daughter arrived in Colombia from Cuba, where she had been in contact with a person from the United States who is positive for the virus.
The daughter has a cough, the ministry said in a statement, while the victim's 74-year-old husband has tested positive for the virus and is in hospital.
REUTERS
