Prisoners continue to rampage through El Rodeo prison in Caracas after days of rioting despite tear gas and the presence of 5000 military troops. Some of the prisoners are heavily armed and there have been serious casualties and some deaths on both sides. Relatives of the prisoners are desperate to know whether their family members are safe or have been transferred to other installations. Prisoners are not prepared to back down and are actively encouraging inmates in other jails to take action against their guards.
Venezuela has a desperate overcrowding problem in it's jails with more than 4 times the inmates to actual capacity. Drugs and violence are widespread and last year official figures showed that nearly 500 people were killed and 1000 were injured while locked up.