The Sabaneta prison fire was a fire that occurred on 3 January 1994 in a prison in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in which at least 108 inmates died. It is the tragedy that caused the most deaths in the country's prison history.[1][2]
Fire
editIt was estimated that the fire was set with gasoline by one of two warring groups in the prison and the gang "Los Goajiros" was blamed for it. However, Diario República reported that an internal source revealed that the day before an inmate had been decapitated and that soccer was played with his head, an event that had occurred before in December 1990; according to the source, the event infuriated the fellow inmates and they waited for the night to chain the exit doors and cause the fire.[3][4] The fire demonstrated the shortcomings of the Venezuelan penal system and led to urgent decisions, including the intervention of the Sabaneta prison and criminal actions against the prison guards.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Hernández, Juan Carlos (29 March 2018). "Angry families demand facts on deadly Venezuela jail riot". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ Vinogradoff, Ludmila (7 January 1994). "Relatos de horror de los supervivientes del motín de la cárcel venezolana". El País. Caracas.
- ^ a b Andara Rivas, José (3 January 2015). "A 21 años de la masacre en la Cárcel de Sabaneta: Una tragedia que conmocionó al mundo entero". Diario República. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "'Expediente Criminal' y las cárceles: las tragedias en las prisiones como 'limpieza social'". Noticias 24. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.