Guatemala City - The deputy head of a provincial jail in Guatemala was killed in a mutiny by inmates belonging to street gangs, the authorities said Friday. The deputy was killed late Thursday shortly before midnight in Chimaltenango, some 50 kilometres west of Guatemala City, as National Civilian Police Forces were getting ready to enter the prison.
Nery Morales, a spokesman for the Guatemalan Prison Department, said police regained control of the prison Friday and found the deputy's dismembered body inside the facilities.
However, police found the head of the prison alive, although the inmates had earlier said they had killed him too, he added. The man had only been beaten up.
The head and his deputy, along with three guards, had been held since 6 pm (2400 GMT) Thursday by inmates who were apparently under the influence of drugs.
Shortly before they killed the deputy, the mutineers had released the three guards.
Morales said the mutiny was probably prompted by the arrest Wednesday of two women who allegedly tried to take drugs into the prison.
He added that the jail holds 68 gang members, 33 of whom have already been condemned for various crimes including kidnapping and murder.
Police said they suspected that calls have been made from that prison to blackmail businessmen with death threats, and the authorities also suspected that inmates have coordinated kidnappings and other crimes.
