Colombian authorities have ordered the relocation of prisoners at the Valledupar prison, following the discovery of traces of feces in the prison’s food and a deficit in potable water, newspaper El Espectador reported Thursday.
Interior and Justice Minister German Vargas Lleras and the director of Colombia’s prison authority, INPEC, General Gustavo Adolfo Ricaurte reported that they have taken a number of measures to solve the sanitary crisis, among them the transfer of 240 prisoners to new facilities and the relocation of the rest to a different part of the prison.
Authorities also plan to invest money into repairing the area’s water treatment plant and working to ensure that prisoners have access to adequate water. It was reported that there is currently a daily deficit of over 100,000 gallons of water at the prison.
Other measures to be taken include the transfer of the director of the Florencia (Caqueta) prison establishment, Imelda Lopez Solorzano, to head of the Valledupar establishment, while the current Valledupar head will in turn be transferred to Florencia.
Meanwhile, a group of congress members from the House’s Human Rights Commission has requested the government to close the prison in Valledupar, at least on a temporary basis.