Three killed in Guatemalan prison riot over food

GUATEMALA CITY, Mar 27 (Reuters) Three Guatemalan prisoners were killed and seven others seriously injured during a riot that authorities said was sparked by complaints about prison food and a lack of drinking water.

The three men were killed in a three-hour shootout between prisoners who were angry about a two-day water shortage caused by a plumbing problem and the daily provisions of beans and tortillas at the overcrowded prison known as ''Little Hell.'' ''This all started because of prisoners' dislike at the quality of food and a lack of drinking water,'' Victor Rosales, the director the country's prison service, told local radio.

The prison is located south of Guatemala City.

Prisoners telephoning local radio stations said the water shortage prompted incarcerated members of the infamous ''mara'' youth gangs to bully other prisoners for drinks. Rosales declined to comment.

Guatemala, which ended a 36-year civil war in 1996, is plagued by gang violence and corrupt police, and prison violence is endemic in the Central American nation.

The country's crumbling, sweaty prisons have become a battleground between Guatemala's two main gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha and the Mara 18, and prison guards have been arrested for smuggling weapons to jailed gang members.

Reuters DKS VP0635