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Posted: Nate on Mar 16 | Law & Justice
The explosion of a hand grenade in Chonchocoro Prison yesterday, which resulted in 3 casualties, has also led to the dismissal of the prison administrator and his team. At the root of his expulsion, among other problems uncovered in the prison, was the discovery of a luxury apartment inhabited by ex-dictator of Bolivia and Chonchocoro prisoner since 1995, Luis Garcia Meza. Mr. Garcia Meza´s apartment reportedly included such amenities as a gym, barbeque pit, sauna, and private phone line.
According to prelimary reports, the grenade exploded around 19:30 on Sunday in Cell 324 in Chonchocoro Prison, about 20 kilometers from La Paz. The men accused of the explosion, Johnny Villarroel Cejas, Juan de Dios Villalobos y Sergio Frías were transported to hospitals with injuries of varying seriousness. Additionally one of the accused was apprehended carrying a 38-caliber firearm.
Government officials entered the prison Monday afternoon and began to retake control after officially dismissing prison governor Gilmar Oblitas and his team. In their search of the facility officials found knives and several firearms, including another 38-caliber pistol. As it begins the investigation the Public Ministry will first try to uncover how the weapons entered the prison. Government minister Sacha Llorenti said that he was “worried about what had happened” and that he “doesn´t believe the prison qualifies as a maximum security prison.” Despite Minister Llorenti´s surprise at this weekend´s violence, prisoners in Chonchocoro had notified the newspaper La Prensa of the existence of weapons in the prison as far back as November of 2009. Since November and now 17 prisoners have died of unnatural causes in the prison.
For more in Spanish see:
http://www.laprensa.com.bo/noticias/16-03-10/noticias.php?nota=16_03_10_segu3.php
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