Mutiny in Buenos Aires prison after confirming a coronavirus case

Dozens of prisoners from the Villa Devoto prison in the Argentine capital rise this Friday in a riot, demanding emergency measures after the confirmation of a case of the new coronavirus.

A police cordon surrounds the prison, which houses some 2,200 detainees, while detonations are heard inside, the AFP confirmed at the scene.

A group of prisoners managed to climb to the roof of the prison, open a hole in the plates and from there throw projectiles at the security guard trying to quell the revolt.

So far, there have been no statements by authorities or reports of injuries.

Prisoners are crying out for the presence of a judge and help in the context of the pandemic, after a positive case of a coronavirus from a prison agent in that prison unit in the city of Buenos Aires was confirmed days ago.

“Covid-19 in Devotee, genocidal judges,” says a sign hanging from the roof of the building. “We refuse to die in prison,” says another.

The inmates ask, among other demands, that the releases that were pending before the health crisis erupted be resolved.

Last week there had already been riots in other prisons in Argentina, one of them in Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires province, which ended with a dead detainee and some twenty wounded.

Since March 20, Argentina has maintained mandatory confinement measures throughout its territory, except for essential activities, and has recorded 3,423 cases of covid-19, of which 167 died.