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t's a common complaint that British prisoners have it easy. Not only is hanging too good for them, we're told, but our prisons are luxury-filled, cushy holiday camps. Well, not in comparison to Guatemala, they're not. Police and soldiers there just regained control of a prison there after it had been run by prisoners for ten years.
During their decade in charge of Pavon prison, the prisoners lived amongst luxury goods, and built and rented space for shops, restaurants and churches. One prisoner had a luxury two storey home with a Jacuzzi, watched over by guard dogs. There were also highly productive drug labs churning out cocaine and crack.
One prisoner loved life in the prison so much that he arranged for his son the break into the prison so he could come and live with him.
It took 3,000 members of the security forces with automatic weapons to recapture the prison from the prisoners, many of whom defended their ground with guns, grenades and Molotov cocktails.
Seven prisoners were killed in the raid, including Luis Alfonso Zepeda, a murderer who was head of the democratically elected 'order committee' that functioned as the prison's government. Zepeda was rumoured to be earning as much as £25,000 a month from his criminal activities while inside the prison.
The relaxed living conditions inside the prison came to light after reporters from Prensa Libre, the main Guatemalan newspaper, published an article about how they were able to walk into Pavon and buy marijuana and cocaine.
During their decade in charge of Pavon prison, the prisoners lived amongst luxury goods, and built and rented space for shops, restaurants and churches. One prisoner had a luxury two storey home with a Jacuzzi, watched over by guard dogs. There were also highly productive drug labs churning out cocaine and crack.
One prisoner loved life in the prison so much that he arranged for his son the break into the prison so he could come and live with him.
It took 3,000 members of the security forces with automatic weapons to recapture the prison from the prisoners, many of whom defended their ground with guns, grenades and Molotov cocktails.
Seven prisoners were killed in the raid, including Luis Alfonso Zepeda, a murderer who was head of the democratically elected 'order committee' that functioned as the prison's government. Zepeda was rumoured to be earning as much as £25,000 a month from his criminal activities while inside the prison.
The relaxed living conditions inside the prison came to light after reporters from Prensa Libre, the main Guatemalan newspaper, published an article about how they were able to walk into Pavon and buy marijuana and cocaine.
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