Authorities are investigating after up to 25 inmates were killed during a riot at Monte Cristo Agricultural Prison in northern Brazil. At 3pm, prisoners from wing 14 broke the locks and invaded wing 12 in a vicious, gang-related attack. In one of the wings there was no forced entry, the prisoners released the hostages. Figures from the National Survey of Penitentiary Information detail a 167% increase in the country’s prison population in the last 14 years. During this time, the figure increased by nearly 400,000 to reach the current total of over 620,000 – a number that constitutes the fourth largest prison population in the world.

Source: The Argentina Independent October 19, 2016 18:45 UTC