By Rebecca Hanson , University of Florida and Leonard Gmez Nez , Universidad Nacional Experimental de Seguridad (UNES), Venezuela for The Conversation

A fire killed scores of inmates after a riot in a Venezuelan jail in the early morning hours of March 28. Sixty-six detainees died in the flames, as did two female visitors.

The incident was horrifying, but it was not a surprise for those familiar with the state of the countrys prison system.

Prison violence has long been common in Venezuela. In 1992 at least 63 inmates were killed in the Retn de Catia prison, which was later demolished after Pope John Paul II visited and called for more humane living conditions . In 1994, 108 people died in a jailhouse riot in the state of Zulia . And in 1996, 29 inmates were burned alive when the National Guard set fire to La Planta prison in Caracas.

Between 2012 and 2017 alone, 135 people were killed in four different prison riots across Venezuela.

Last months deadly fire is yet another tragedy. But it also differs from past incidents in critical ways.

Much of the media coverage of the incident, both inside and outside of Venezuela, portrays the riot and ensuing fire as the outcome of the chaos and lawlessness that rules Venezuelan prisons . But our research on the countrys criminal justice system reveals that the story behind the violence is more complicated.