Police in Brazil have entered two prisons in the country's northern state of Rio Grande do Norte where a riot left at least 10 inmates dead on Saturday, authorities said Sunday. The riot erupted from fighting between rival gangs and was the latest in a series of massacres in the country's penitentiaries that have killed more than 100. The last rebellion in Alcacuz prison was in November 2015, when a tunnel was discovered in one pavilion. The recent outbreak of prison violence in Brazil began on Jan. 1-2, when 56 inmates were killed in the northern state of Amazonas. The gang runs drug-trafficking operations both inside and outside prisons even though many of its leaders are in maximum security penitentiaries in Sao Paulo state.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 15, 2017 12:04 UTC