2019 Altamira prison riot
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Altamira, Pará, Brazil
| 2019 Altamira prison riot | |
|---|---|
| Part of the 2019 Brazil prison riots | |
  2019 Altamira prison riot (Brazil) | |
| Location | 03°15′57″S 52°15′16″W / 3.26583°S 52.25444°W Altamira, Pará, Brazil |
| Date | 29 July 2019 |
Attack type | Prison riot, drug turf dispute |
| Deaths | 62 |
| Assailants | |
The Altamira prison riot occurred on 29 July 2019, when a riot broke out at the Centro de Recuperação Regional de Altamira prison in Altamira, Pará, Brazil due to drug turf disputes between rival gangs within the prison.
Over the five-hour conflict, 62 people died. Sixteen people were beheaded, and a fire lit at the beginning of the riot killed 46 more people due to smoke inhalation.
Gang violence in Brazilian prisons is common. However, officials reported that the inmates had shown no signs prior to the riot that they would start something of such magnitude.[1]
The Altamira prison is supposed to hold 200 inmates, but was reportedly holding over 450 at the time of the riot.[1][2][3] It was later revealed that the prison only had 33 guards, with the municipality admitting this was nowhere near enough to ensure security.[4] A new structure at the prison was being built to house the excess prisoners,[5] though prison officials deny there was overcrowding[1] and many inmates were held in old container units. The design of these supposedly made the fire worse.[5]
The gangs involved were Comando Classe A (CCA)[6] and Comando Vermelho (CV), with CCA attacking CV. CV is a large Rio de Janeiro-based gang[2] that has a longstanding history of violent confrontation with Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), another large national group.[1] Comparatively, the CCA is a small regional gang in Pará.[2] According to The Guardian, the attack was part of a longstanding drug trade turf war that is ultimately between CV and PCC.[3]