CNN —The Venezuelan government invited journalists to tour the Tocoron Penitentiary Center in Aragua state on Saturday – days after security forces reclaimed control of a prison that has spent many years under the control of gangs.
On Wednesday, Venezuelan security forces including the Army and National Guard conducted a special operation with more than 11,000 personnel to regain control of the prison grounds.
Venezuela Minister of the Interior and Justice, Admiral Remigio Ceballos, speaks during a press conference in the Tocoron prison in Aragua State, Venezuela, on September 23.
Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty ImagesJournalists, including a CNNe team, were shown where inmates had built a swimming pool and several restaurants inside the prison walls in recent years.
“I haven’t heard anything since this whole thing started on Wednesday,” Claribel Rojas, the sister of an inmate from the Tocoron prison, told CNNe on Saturday.
Persons:
Remigio Ceballos, Ceballos, ’, ”, Admiral Remigio Ceballos, Yuri Cortez, ” Claribel Rojas, CNNe, “
Organizations:
CNN, Tocoron, Venezuelan Information Ministry, Army, National Guard, CNN en Espanol, Interior, Justice, Getty Images Journalists, US State Department
Locations:
Aragua, Venezuelan, Venezuela, Aragua State, AFP, Tocoron, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina