Tragedy in Colombia: 49 inmates were killed today (Tuesday) in riots at a jail located in a senior Tolua state located in the southwest of the country, after guards opened fire and tear gas fired at the insurgent inmates.
"This is a tragic and devastating event," General Tito Castellanus, commander of the Colombian Prison Service, told a local radio station.
Castellanus said the prison population numbers 1,267 inmates living in harsh conditions of overcrowding.
However, the commander did not say what was the reason for the riots.
"We are very sorry for the incidents at the Toulouse prison in the Val del del Coca area. I am in constant contact with General Castellanos and have given an order to open an investigation that will allow us to shed light on the details of the incident," said outgoing Colombian President Ivan Duca, who is visiting Portugal.
The South American country released hundreds of prisoners from prisons during the Corona plague, following widespread riots that killed dozens of prisoners.
The prisoners demanded better living conditions and a solution to the problem of overcrowding in the country's prisons.
Last year, more than 300 inmates were killed in a series of riots in prisons in neighboring Ecuador.
According to the local government, the riots broke out following a gang war over the country’s large drug market.
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