Latin America's fatal prison problem
Monday, May 14, 2012
Prison riots in Venezuela. Jailbreaks in Mexico. Prison fires in Honduras. Latin America is displaying violent cases of the ails of its prison systems. Overcrowded and rundown, many of the region’s jails are out of control and ready to burst. In this in-depth series, GlobalPost gets inside some of the most violent jailhouses of the Americas to figure out what’s gone horribly wrong.
In Venezuela’s prisons, inmates are the wardens
There’s always a party, everyone is armed, and prisoners sometimes engage in gladiatorial fights to the death.
Peru prison: from pot smoke to pottery class
There's nothing quite like Lurigancho, Peru’s largest prison. GlobalPost gets inside, and finds some surprises.
Brazil: Rio shuts makeshift police-run jails
With prisons overloaded, police turned anything from old buses to horse stables into detention centers. Rio de Janeiro is cracking down.
Caging in Central America
The region’s overcrowded prisons are deadly and churn out the real hardened criminals.
Mexican hot potato over who controls prisons
Some of Mexico's prisons are out of control and ill-equipped to handle the glut of inmates. While politicos fiddle, prisoners break out.
How packed are the Americas' prisons?
Prison overcrowding is a big concern throughout much of the Americas. GlobalPost maps out prison populations and capacity by country.
