prison riot
Members of the Venezuelan National Guard watch inmates in the central yard of Caracas' Catia prison while other members of the military inspect their cells for drugs, guns and handmade knives December, 1994. Reuters

Nineteen people were killed in a prison riot over the weekend in Venezuela.

Another 20 inmates are being treated for wounds sustained in the event, which occurred in the El Rodeo I prison near Caracas, according to Venezuela's Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami.

The prison revolt began on Sunday and continued into Monday, when the Venezuelan National Guard took control of the facility. El Aissami did not say what sparked the riot.

Family members coming to visit inmates waited outside during the confrontation.

Humberto Prado, director of the non-governmental Venezuelan Prison Observatory, told the Agence France Presse that El Rodeo I held 3,600 inmates, even though it was designed to hold only 750 people.

CNN reports that 124 people died in Venezuelan prisons between January and March of this year. Gang violence and riots in prisons are not uncommon in the South American country. Over the same period in 2010, 102 prisoners were killed.

The deadliest prison riot in Venezuala happened in 1999, when 27 prisoners were killed in a fight with security personnel.