Prison gang clashes leave dozens dead over past two days in Brazil

Reuters: A riot between inmates in a prison in the Brazilian city of Manaus ended with 15 dead on Sunday (May 26). The riot began during visiting hours at the prison, and prisoners' family members also protested outside the facility, blocking a road and clashing with police. Inmates at the jail in the Amazon jungle city were choked to death or stabbed with toothbrushes, according to a statement from the head of the Amazonas state jails. Meanwhile, on Monday (May 27), some 40 prisoners were found strangled to death in four jails in Manaus. A federal task force is being sent to Manaus in an effort to halt the violence. Prison clashes often spread rapidly in Brazil, where drug gangs have de facto control over nearly all jails. Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to regain control of the country's prisons - along with building many more jails. But the vast majority of jails are administered at the state level. For decades they have been badly overcrowded and out of control of local authorities, essentially serving as recruiting centres for drug gangs.