Caracas Aug 17 (IANS) At least 37 people were killed and 14 law enforcement personnel wounded when armed inmates resisted authorities attempt to impose order at a prison in the Venezuelan state of Amazonas officials said.
"The deaths occurred during a seizure of the Amazonas Judicial Detention Center (CDJA) in which 14 officials were also wounded " the Attorney General s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Amazonas Governor Liborio Guarulla an opponent of President Nicolas Maduro described the episode as a "massacre" caused by an Interior Ministry team that tried to take the prison by force Efe news reported.
A source with first-hand knowledge of the events said that the trouble began during a search of the CDJA by a police task force.
The 37 inmates killed represented nearly 40 per cent of the jail s current population the source said.
Venezuela with 166 people behind bars for every 100 000 residents has the region s third-smallest prison population yet its penitentiary system is among the most violent.
As part of an effort to curb prison violence the government has imposed a militarized administration in roughly half of Venezuela s penal institutions.
--IANS
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