Authorities reported that at least 30 inmates escaped from a prison in southern Paraguay on Sunday, of which 12 have already been recaptured.
Initial reports indicate that among the escapees are members of the Brazilian criminal group First Capital Command (PCC).
“What we have is a preliminary figure of 30 people who escaped,” declared the Minister of Justice, Édgar Olmedo, about what happened in the Misiones prison, located some 200 kilometers south of the Paraguayan capital, Asunción.
The inmates, who took one of the penitentiary agents hostage, managed to escape through a wall surrounding the prison, explained the official, who ruled out for the moment any riot.
“Jumping the wall, taking a staff hostage are situations that will be thoroughly investigated,” said the official, who anticipated the administrative intervention of the place.
He confirmed that, in addition to the correctional officers, there are police and military agents in charge of guarding the external perimeter of the prison.
Olmedo pointed out that this prison houses about 1,500 inmates when its capacity is for about 900 inmates.
“It is overcrowded by almost 600 people; that is the reality of this prison,” he admitted.
The minister pointed out that this situation took place after the resignation of the director of that prison on Friday, which has not yet been accepted by his office.
He also indicated that a few days ago, a search was carried out in the pavilion that houses the PCC members, during which drugs, weapons, and “many prohibited objects”, among others, were seized.
When asked about the situation in prison, the head of Misiones Citizen Security, Commissioner Milciades Ramírez, confirmed the recapture of 12 people and indicated that an operation is underway in the area.
With information from EFE