GUATIRE, Venezuela – National Guard troops stormed a Venezuelan prison Friday seeking to disarm inmates days after a bloody riot, and at least seven troops were wounded by gunfire as some prisoners resisted.
Bursts of gunfire erupted inside the El Rodeo I prison while hundreds of inmates' relatives wept desperately outside the prison, some of them shouting, "Help them!" A military helicopter circled overhead.
At least seven National Guard troops were wounded by gunfire and were being treated, said Nestor Reverol, a deputy justice minister.
"Part of those who are incarcerated have resisted," Reverol told state television. He said they were in a prison tower and had refused to come down.
Fierce gunfire rang out inside the prison in what appeared be shootouts. A fire broke out in a prison tower, and then died down as the gunfire persisted.
More than 3,500 troops were taking part in the operation in El Rodeo I and El Rodeo II prisons in Guatire, east of the capital, Caracas, and had more than 1,700 inmates under control, Reverol said.
The violence erupted as troops were carrying out a search operation to disarm inmates, National Guard Gen. Luis Motta Dominguez told state television. A riot in the prison on Sunday left 21 inmates and a visitor dead.
Friday's clashes were the latest in a series of violent outbursts in Venezuela's severely crowded prisons, where rival gangs often fight for control of cellblocks and sell weapons and drugs with the help of corrupt prison guards.
As the gunfire raged in the prison Friday, inmates' relatives expressed anguish. Ambulances drove in and out of the prison compound.
"We have our hands tied," said Cecilia Mijares, 49, whose nephew was among the prisoners inside. "This started early this morning. Listen to the gunfire."
Government officials said the purpose of the operation was precisely to safeguard the lives of inmates.
Vice President Elias Jaua said the government's message for inmates' families is that "the intervention we're carrying out today isn't to massacre their relatives."
"It's to protect the lives of more than 5,000 inmates," Jaua said in a televised speech.
A total of 124 deaths were reported in Venezuela's prisons in the first three months of this year, a 22 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a watchdog group.
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