A Window to Freedom, a nonprofit group that monitors conditions at Venezuela's jails and prisons, said preliminary but unconfirmed information indicated that the riot began when an armed detainee shot an officer in the leg. Shortly after that, a fire broke out, with flames growing quickly as the blaze spread to mattresses in the cells, the group said. Rescuers apparently had to break a hole through a wall to free some of the prisoners inside.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 29, 2018 05:20 UTC