Brazil Prison Riots Kill Nearly 100 Since Jan. 1; Gov't Implored to Act

Nearly 100 people have died in Brazil prison riots over the past week and the Brazilian government is blaming rival gangs for the violence.

Riots in several privately owned prisons have led to the escape of more than 100 inmates and the deaths of nearly as many, according to The New York Times.

Brazilian President Michel Temer said the government has no responsibility for the crimes because the prisons where they took place are privately operated, but many Brazilian citizens feel his response has not been strong enough and that the government needs to act.

“This is a challenge to civilization,” University of Sao Paulo political science professor Jose Moises told the NYT.

Rioting killed 56 prisoners at Anisio Jobim Penitentiary on Jan. 1 and another 33 at the Agricultural Penitentiary of Monte Cristo on Friday. The killings are said to be a war over the main drug route into or through Brazil by rival gangs First Command and Family of the North, according to ABC News.

Although the government claims no responsibility, Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said measures will be taken to alleviate the situation, including more federal police in state capitals and special task forces that can process criminal charges more quickly, ABC reported, which should help alleviate some of the overcrowding that has been plaguing the prison system.

Both Brazil prisons where the biggest deadly riots took place were filled to nearly double their intended capacity, which may have contributed to the violence, ABC noted.

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