The Cartagena prison where riots killed one on Sunday is managed by only 20 guards at a time, amid a grave state of overcrowding, reported Caracol Radio Tuesday.
According to the radio station, the 20 guards are in charge of maintaining order among 2,160 inmates while the prison is only to hold 1,000 prisoners.
Authorities from the city of Cartegena, in the northern department of Bolivar, will form a special committee to request help from Colombia’s governmental branch in charge of the prison systems, INPEC, to resolve the issue of gross overcrowding.
“It is a very worrying situation for the city because the lack of checks made. This committee will be traveling, in the coming days, to Bogota to see how it can free space in the jail,” Interior Secretary of the Bolivar department told tha radio station.
The gravity of the situation became evident Sunday when riots left one inmate dead and at least three more wounded.