At least 49 inmates died in riot at Colombian prison in worst outbreak since 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least 49 inmates died Tuesday in a prison riot in southwestern Colombia. According to the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC), it was one of the worst since 2020 when 24 inmates were allegedly murdered in an attempt to quell a protest in Bogotá’s La Modelo prison.

The riot occurred at a prison in the municipality of Tuluá, in the department of Valle del Cauca, where a fire broke out during a protest by inmates, according to official data.

“It is a sad and catastrophic event,” INPEC Director General Tito Yesid Castellanos told Caracol Radio.

According to the radio station, the tragedy happened between 1 AM and 2 AM after inmates allegedly set fire to their matrasses while prison guards tried to thwart a prison break.

Some 200 people were being held in the ward where the fire broke out, the radio station reported based on claims by Colombia’s prison authority.

According to Blu Radio, INPEC said that many who died burned to death while the bodies of others showed signs of violence.

Some 50 people who were injured in the fire were taken to medical centers in Tulua, the local fire department told the radio station.

Three former prison guards were charged in February for their alleged use of torture in the aftermath of this massacre.

According to Colombia’s Constitutional Court, prison authorities are permanently violating the human rights of inmates, of which one third has not been convicted of a crime.

In addition to the dead, thirty other people were injured in the incident, he said.