Prison Riot Amid Coronavirus Fears Leaves Nine Dead in Peru

Inmates gather around the corpses of other inmates during a riot in Miguel Castro Castro jail in Lima on April 27.Photographer: Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo
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Nine inmates died during a riot at a Lima jail amid fears Peru’s prisons are becoming a breeding ground for coronavirus.

The disturbance began at the Miguel Castro Castro jail in the east of the Peruvian capital on Monday with inmates burning mattresses and protesting violently. Some prisoners climbed onto the roof and threw stones and heavy objects at security forces attempting to entering the jail, the country’s penitentiary authority INPE said in a statement on its website.