Venezuelan prison riot kills 16

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- At least 16 inmates died during a riot at a Venezuelan prison just outside the capital, Caracas, Globovision TV reported Tuesday.

After hours of unrestrained fighting between inmates at the facility in Barquisimeto, authorities finally managed to quell the violence.

The riot reportedly was set off by a fight that between two inmates vying for control of the prison.

Venezuelan prisons are often the scene of violence attributed to tensions between rival gangs and overcrowding.