7. Carandiru Riot & Massacre
At the time, the Carandiru Penitentiary in Sao Paulo, Brazil was nicknamed ‘the powder keg’ ready to blow off at any moment. Though, in 1992, the facility was the largest prison in Latin America but it was awfully overcrowded with more than 7000 prisoners in place of 3000. It all started on October 2 over a dispute between rival drug-trafficking gangs. Soon a riot began. With the authorities washing their hands over the matter, about 300 military personnel’s were called in and who instantly opened fire. 111 prisoners were reported dead & several more wounded. Some eyewitnesses reported that the riot was subdued by committing massacre. They said that the police killed prisoners even when they were ready to surrender therefore violating human rights. Following this, Colonel Ubiratan Guimaraes, the commanding officer was convicted and till 2014, 73 officers have been sentenced for committing murder, some of them receiving symbolic long life sentences.
Discussion about this post