Guard Taken Hostage During Deadly Prison Riot

At least one inmate has been killed and a guard taken hostage after rioting prisoners took over a facility in Venezuela.

Some 30 inmates broke out of their cells at the temporary police detention centre in western Caracas late on Sunday during a protest against overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.

The prisoners, some with their faces covered, jumped on the roof on Monday and shouted about a lack of food and water.

The chief prosecutor's office said the prisoner who died - identified as 56-year-old Juan Bautista Infante - was killed at the hands of other inmates during the unrest.

More than 100 police officers were deployed to deal with the riot.

The mother of one of the inmates said prisoners were often assaulted and mistreated.

"Where is the prisons minister?" she said.

"Why isn't he here to check the place?

"The (inmates) are humans who need their liberty or whatever else they need but these problems are not going to end when they collapse from being hit or mistreatment, just like how they're mistreated daily," she added.

The riot appears to have ended peacefully and the guard released.

Buses later transferred a group of prisoners out of the facility.

In November, at least 35 prisoners died during what authorities described as a mass overdose triggered by a riot at a separate facility also suffering from overcrowding.

The prison population in Venezuela has doubled since 2008 due to rampant crime and stiffer sentencing.