RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – At least 60 inmates died during a prison riot in the northern state of Amazonas, including several who were beheaded or dismembered, in the biggest killing at a Brazilian prison since 1992.
Authorities said the riot apparently grew out of a fight between two of the country’s biggest crime gangs over control of prisons and drug routs in northern Brazil.
Amazonas state public security secretary Sergio Fontes said that in addition to the deaths, some inmates escaped from the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in Manaus, but he did not say how many. He added that 40 had been recaptured.
Twelve prison guards were held hostage by the inmates, though none was wounded during the riot that began Sunday afternoon and ended Monday morning.
“This is the biggest prison massacre in our state’s history,” Fontes said during a press conference. “What happened here is another chapter of the war that narcos are waging on this country and it shows that this problem cannot be tackled only by state governments.”