Caracas:Twenty nine prisoners were killed and 19 cops injured after clash broke out at a pre-trial detention facility in the central state of Portuguesa.
According to media reports, the clash broke out at a police lockup in the town of Acarigua on Friday.
The prisoners detonated three grenades, resulting in injuries to 19 police officers.
"There was an attempted escape and a fight broke out among gangs," the state's public safety secretary, Oscar Valero, told the media. "With police intervention to prevent the escape, well, there were 29 deaths."
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According to a Venezuelan NGO, the situation heated up on Thursday night after the inmates of the detention center staged a protest demanding their transfer to other facilities.
Over the last decade, Venezuela has witnessed scores of deaths in prisons due to violence.