Prison Riot Ends With Release of 215 Hostages in VenezuelaA three-day prison riot ended Wednesday in the Rodeo prison of the state of Miranda, Venezuela, with the release of 215 visitors held hostage by rebel prisoners, after government negotiators reached a deal with inmates.Some 550 inmates in the Rodeo prison, 40 kilometers east of Caracas, had detained 215 visiting friends, family members and others during visiting hours on Sunday to demand that court cases be expedited. Negotiators agreed to study the complaints of the inmates and promised that jail conditions were going to be improved and rioters not to be punished for their actions. The riot is the latest in a series of standoffs in recent months in the Venezuelan penitentiary system. Venezuela's 32 prisons have been overcrowded and often dominated by gangs. A 1999 law freed about 10,000 inmates who had been waiting months for their cases to be heard by courts. |
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