PUERTO ORDAZ, Venezuela (Reuters) - Thirty-seven inmates were killed during an overnight raid by government security forces on a prison in Venezuela’s southern jungle state of Amazonas, the governor said on Wednesday.

Soldiers stand guard next to relatives of inmates from the Judicial Detention Center of Amazonas, outside the Jose Gregorio Hernandez hospital in Puerto Ayacucho, Venezuela August 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jose Torres

Human rights advocates have long complained that violent gangs exercise de facto control over many of the chaotic country’s prisons and have ready access to automatic weapons and even hand grenades.

The government seeks to reassert control over understaffed prison facilities by sending in special forces from time to time, but deadly confrontations often ensue.

“There was a massacre,” tweeted Liborio Guarulla, the Amazonas governor, who said 37 prisoners had been killed.

“The morgue is totally overwhelmed,” he said later in an interview, adding that the raid on the prison in the state capital Puerto Ayacucho started around midnight.

Venezuela’s state prosecutor’s office said later on Wednesday that it was investigating 37 deaths in Amazonas. It added 14 officials had been injured

Venezuela’s Information Ministry, which processes media requests for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But a city council member, Jose Mejias, said gunshots were heard all night.

“The government went in to try to regain control of the jail. The prisoners resisted,” Mejías told Reuters.

Venezuela is one of the world’s most violent countries and inmates often plan kidnappings and robberies from their cells.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Clashes between rioting prisoners and security forces killed 37 inmates Wednesday in the southern Venezuelan state of Amazonas, the regional governor said.

Gov. Liborio Guarulla said the “massacre” at a prison in the town of Puerto Ayacucho also wounded four inmates, while one managed to escape. Sixty-one prisoners were transferred to other facilities.

The office of Venezuela’s prosecutor general confirmed that an inquiry had been opened into the deaths of inmates. It said 14 officials were injured during the prison violence.</s>Thirty-seven inmates were killed during an overnight raid by government security forces on a prison in Venezuela's southern jungle state of Amazonas, the governor said on Wednesday.

Human rights advocates have long complained that violent gangs exercise de facto control over many of the chaotic country's prisons and have ready access to automatic weapons and even hand grenades.

The government seeks to reassert control over understaffed prison facilities by sending in special forces from time to time, but deadly confrontations often ensue.

“There was a massacre,” tweeted Liborio Guarulla, the Amazonas governor, who said 37 prisoners had been killed.

“The morgue is totally overwhelmed,” he said later in an interview, adding that the raid on the prison in the state capital Puerto Ayacucho started around midnight.

Venezuela's Information Ministry, which processes media requests for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But a city council member, Jose Mejías, said gunshots were heard all night.

“The government went in to try to regain control of the jail. The prisoners resisted,” said Mejías in an interview.

Venezuela is one of the world's most violent countries and inmates often plan kidnappings and robberies from their cells.</s>At least 37 people have been killed in a prison riot in southern Venezuela, prosecutors say.

Special interior ministry forces were sent in to regain control of the jail in Puerto Ayacucho, the capital of Amazonas state.

Witnesses reported hearing shots for several hours and the state governor Liborio Guarulla called it a “massacre”.

Prosecutors said 14 officials were wounded in the violence.

Two prison-monitoring groups, A Window to Freedom and the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, said the 37 dead were all inmates.

The prison was holding 105 inmates at the time of the riot.

Many Venezuelan prisons are understaffed and are in effect run by gangs of inmates.</s>At least 37 people in a southern Venezuela prison died Tuesday night as a result of fighting between inmates and security officials, a governor in the South American country said.

Fighting broke out between inmates and their jailers around midnight on Tuesday at the prison in Puerto Ayacucho, according to Gov. Liborio Guarulla of Amazonas state.

Guarulla said security forces entered the grounds in an attempt to restore order in the prison, where the inmates had seized control several weeks ago.

"At midnight special forces showed up and through the night we heard gunfire and explosions," Guaralla said.

The governor referred to the infighting as a "massacre" on Twitter.

The office of Venezuela's chief prosecutor said on social media that 14 prison guards were injured in the fight, and that it was investigating the incident

Venezuela has around 30 prisons, many of which suffer from overcrowding and are dominated by criminal gangs that traffic in weapons and narcotics.

The prison system, built to hold about 16,000 inmates, is currently estimated to house some 50,000 prisoners, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, which monitors prison conditions.

But Guarulla said the facility in Puerto Ayacucho housed only about 110 inmates, all of them awaiting trial, and unlikely suffered from the same volatile conditions seen elsewhere in the country's prisons.

The bloodshed was the worst in Venezuela since a prison riot in 2013 that left 61 people dead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>At least 37 people have been killed during clashes between armed inmates and security forces at a small prison in southern Venezuela.

State governor Liborio Guarulla said the bloodshed came after fighting erupted on Tuesday night in the prison in Puerto Ayacucho, capital of sparsely populated Amazonas state.

He said security forces raided the facility seeking to restore order in the prison, where the inmates had seized control several weeks ago.

“At midnight special forces showed up and through the night we heard gunfire and explosions,” Mr Guarulla told The Associated Press.

The office of Venezuela’s chief prosecutor said it was investigating the incident. It said 14 prison guards were also injured.

Mr Guarulla said the city’s morgue had been overwhelmed trying to handle so many bodies.

Venezuela has around 30 jails, many of which suffer from overcrowding and are dominated by criminal gangs that traffic in weapons and narcotics as well as plot crimes that take place beyond the prison walls.

The prison system, built to hold about 16,000 inmates, is currently estimated to house some 50,000, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, which monitors conditions in jails.

But Mr Guarulla said the facility in Puerto Ayacucho housed only about 110 inmates, all of them awaiting trial, and it was unlikely that it suffered from the same volatile conditions seen elsewhere in the country’s prisons.</s>Venezuela has some of the world's most violent prisons

Special interior ministry forces were sent to the prison in Puerto Ayacucho to regain control.

According to Amazonas state Governor Liborio Guarulla, the inmates had seized control several weeks ago.

Venezuelan prisons are understaffed and according to human rights advocates, violent gangs exercise de facto control with access to automatic weapons and hand grenades.

Venezuela is one of the world’s most violent countries and inmates plan kidnappings and robberies from their cells.</s>Fighting erupted between inmates and security forces in the prison in the city of Puerto Ayacucho, in Amazonas state.

At least 37 people were killed during clashes between armed inmates and security forces at a small prison in southern Venezuela, the state's governor said on Wednesday.

Governor Liborio Guarulla said the bloodshed came after fighting erupted between inmates and their jailers on Tuesday night in the prison in Puerto Ayacucho, capital of sparsely populated Amazonas state.

He said security forces raided the facility seeking to restore order in the prison, where the inmates had seized control several weeks ago.

"At midnight special forces showed up and through the night we heard gunfire and explosions," Guarulla told The Associated Press.

The office of Venezuela's chief prosecutor said on social media that it was investigating the incident. It said 14 prison guards were also injured.

Guarulla said the city's morgue had been overwhelmed trying to handle so many bodies.

Venezuela has around 30 prisons, many of which suffer from overcrowding and are dominated by criminal gangs that traffic in weapons and narcotics as well as plot crimes taking beyond prison walls.

The prison system, built to hold about 16,000 inmates, is currently estimated to house some 50,000 prisoners, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, which monitors prison conditions.

Guarulla said the facility in Puerto Ayacucho housed only about 110 inmates, all of them awaiting trial, and unlikely suffered from the same volatile conditions seen elsewhere in the country's prisons.

Carlos Nieto of prison-monitoring group "A Window to Freedom" told AFP news agency that it was "the worst riot we've had in a detention facility".

"In this one, detainees are only supposed to be held for up to 48 hours, but there were prisoners who have been there for years," he said.

The death toll was the worst in Venezuela since a prison riot in 2013 that left 61 people dead.

Caracas has also been engulfed by a political crisis, with the opposition accusing President Nicolas Maduro of attempting to establish a dictatorship, while more than 120 people have been killed in anti-government protests.

A newly created constituent assembly, instigated by Maduro, immediately declared itself supreme to all other branches of government, including the opposition-controlled National Assembly, shortly after its inauguration this month.

The United States, the European Union and many Latin American states have refused to recognise it.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela — At least 37 people were killed during clashes between armed inmates and security forces at a small prison in southern Venezuela, the state’s governor said Wednesday.

Gov. Liborio Guarulla said the bloodshed came after fighting erupted between inmates and their jailers Tuesday night in the prison in Puerto Ayacucho, capital of sparsely populated Amazonas state. He said security forces entered the grounds seeking to restore order in the prison, where the inmates had seized control several weeks ago.

“At midnight special forces showed up and through the night we heard gunfire and explosions,” Guarulla told The Associated Press.

The office of Venezuela’s chief prosecutor said on social media that it was investigating the incident. It said 14 prison guards were also injured.

Venezuela has around 30 prisons, many of which suffer from overcrowding and are dominated by criminal gangs that traffic in weapons and narcotics. The prison system, built to hold about 16,000 inmates, is currently estimated to house some 50,000 prisoners, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, which monitors prison conditions.

But Guarulla said the facility in Puerto Ayacucho housed only about 110 inmates, all of them awaiting trial, and unlikely suffered from the same volatile conditions seen elsewhere in the country’s prisons.

The bloodshed was the worst in Venezuela since a prison riot in 2013 that left 61 people dead.</s>Caracas (dpa) - At least 37 people have been killed during a security raid on a Venezuelan jail, Liborio Guarulla, the governor of the southern state of Amazonas, told dpa late Wednesday.

Special security forces, including military units, had stormed the prison in the state capital Puerto Ayacucho to confiscate weapons that had been smuggled in to prisoners, he said, condemning the raid as a "massacre."

Fourteen members of the security forces had been injured, the attorney general's office said.

The jail, located in a remote area of tropical rainforest, houses 105 prisoners awaiting trial. Guarulla said 37 bodies had been counted at the local hospital, meaning that more than a third of the inmates had been killed.

Witnesses reported fierce gun battles between security forces and the prisoners.

Guaralla said that a year ago, a prisoner belonging to the Colombian rebel group National Liberation Army (ELN) had died at the jail and that the guerillas, who are active on the Colombian border with Venezuela, had sworn revenge.

"The prisoners armed themselves so as to be ready for a guerilla attack but the authorities said they would disarm them, that they would give them protection, and that led to this assault," Guaralla said.

The governor, who belongs to Venezuela's indigenous community and has been in office since 2001, is a member of the Progressive Movement of Venezuela party, part of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition.

In May, he was handed a 15-year ban on running for office, according to the newspaper El Nacional, after repeatedly referring to the government of President Nicolas Maduro as the "red regime."

Conditions in Venezuelan prisons have deteriorated badly as the country suffers its worst ever economic crisis.

Weapons are routinely smuggled in, and many mutinies have been reported recently as prisoners suffer malnutrition. Twelve people were killed in April in a prison in the city of Barcelona, on the country's Caribbean coast.

Caracas has also been engulfed by a political crisis, with the opposition accusing Maduro of attempting to establish a dictatorship, while more than 120 people have been killed in anti-government protests.

A newly created constituent assembly, instigated by Maduro, immediately declared itself supreme to all other branches of government, including the opposition-controlled National Assembly, shortly after its inauguration this month.

The United States, the European Union and many Latin American states have refused to recognize it.
Venezuelan security forces raid a prison in Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas State, killing at least 37 inmates. Amazonas Governor Liborio Guarulla describes the killings as a "massacre".