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(CNN Spanish) - The president of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, declared an emergency situation in all prisons in the country and also extended the budget of expenses for this issue. The new regulation will be in force for one year and expands the Ministry of Justice portfolio with about 2 million Guarani, an additional $ 100,000.
The objective is to control the serious prison crisis in Paraguay. In June, ten prisoners died in a revolt, some of them beheaded.
According to the police, the origin of the massacre was the rivalry between two criminal groups that disputed the control of the prison.
In the last months there were also several riots, the last one happened the previous Thursday, when three prisoners tried to escape from Itapua prison and kidnapped a guard for several hours.
READ : A prison guard in Paraguay was kidnapped by inmates who tried to escape
This additional money, said Justice Minister Julio Javier Ríos on Monday, will be used to pay salaries and medical insurance for 500 new guards.
Ríos clarified that this money will not be enough for the construction of penitentiaries with seclusion and maximum security regimes to give a more definitive solution to the problem of the prison system in Paraguay.
The document also authorizes the support and employment of public, police and military forces for the custody and perimeter security coverage of prisons.
Jail