Riot in Venezuelan Detention Centre Kills 29 - Source

CARACAS (Sputnik) - A riot in a pretrial detention centre in Venezuela on Friday saw 29 killed and 19 injured, a source in the Venezuelan state prosecutor's office has told Sputnik.

"According to updated data, there are 19 injured and 29 killed", the source said. The source added that there were 14 employees of the pre-trial detention centre among those 19 persons injured in the incident. They had gunshot and blast injuries.

An investigation into the circumstances of the incident is underway, according to the source.

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In April, a similar incident occurred in Venezuela's Nueva Esparta state. One person was killed and two other people were injured after about 60 prisoners escaped from a local jail. The inmates, who seized arms from a guardhouse, attacked and injured two prison guards, local media reported.

Venezuela has been suffering from a severe political crisis since late January when US-backed opposition leader Guaido proclaimed himself interim president in a bid to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. Maduro has accused Guaido of being a US puppet working with Washington to orchestrate a coup so the United States can control Venezuela’s natural resources.

Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for constitutionally-elected Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.

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