Ten inmates killed in Venezuela prison fight

CARACAS, Venezuela, Apr 19 (Reuters) Ten prisoners were killed in a Venezuelan prison today by inmates who thought the 10 had tipped off guards about an illegal stash of drugs and firearms, authorities said.

The members of a prison gang known as ''the paramilitaries'' were killed after authorities confiscated drugs and guns from fellow inmates at Santa Ana prison in Tachira state yesterday, Vice Interior Minister Yuri Pimentel told state television.

Riots and bloody fights are common in Venezuela's overpopulated and understaffed prison system.

REUTERS PG PM0324