Six inmates lost their lives in a fire that swept through their cell at a prison near Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, as reported by the interior ministry on Wednesday.
The origin of the fire at Santiago Vazquez penitentiary, the largest in the country, remains unclear.
Authorities discovered six charred bodies inside a locked cell, while all the other cells in the vicinity were open. Additionally, one inmate from a neighboring cell was hospitalized for treatment.
This incident follows a similar tragedy in December 2023, when a fire at the same facility resulted in six fatalities. That blaze was determined to be arson, leading to murder charges against four inmates.
According to state statistics, Uruguay has the highest incarceration rate in Latin America and ranks tenth globally. As of 2023, four out of every thousand Uruguayans were incarcerated, marking a record high, according to a recent report from the parliamentary prisons commissioner.
The prisons commissioner had previously highlighted the dire conditions at Santiago Vazquez, emphasizing that the lack of rehabilitation and integration opportunities was contributing to “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” of the inmates.
