Fierce fighting between warring gangs in a prison in Brazil has led to the deaths of dozens of prisoners. In the clashes in the detention center of Altamira in the state of Para in the north of the country, 57 people have been killed, the regional prison authorities said today. The number of dead thus continued to increase, previously 52 fatalities had been mentioned.
16 victims were beheaded. The fighting broke out after members of a criminal organization broke into the cell section of a rival gang. The attackers blocked the exit of a room and set fire to it. 41 people suffocated.
„It’s a war between the gangs,“ said Jarbas Vasconcelos, the head of the prison service. Members of the crime syndicate Comando Vermelho (Red Command) had been attacked by supporters of the regional gang Comando Classe A. This gang was recently allied with the Primeiro Comando da Capital (First Command of the capital), which wrestles with the Comando Vermelho for the control of prisons in Brazil.
Initially, the inmates also took two prison officers hostage. After negotiations with the police, the guards were later released, however. „That was a targeted action. The inmates quickly let the officers go again to show that they were settling a bill with the other gang and did not want to incite a rebellion against the prison, „Vasconcelos said. After the act, the Public Security Bureau ordered the transfer of 46 alleged prisoners allegedly involved in the attack to federal prisons
