Guatemala City  - The head of a provincial jail in Guatemala and his
deputy were killed in a mutiny by inmates belonging to street gangs,
the police said Friday.

The killings took place late Thursday,
shortly before midnight, in Chimaltenango, some 50 kilometres west of
Guatemala City, as National Civilian Police Forces were getting ready
to enter the prison.

The head of the jail and his deputy, along
with three guards, had been held since 6 pm (2400 GMT) by inmates who
were apparently under the influence of drugs.

Shortly before they killed the two men, the mutineers had released the three guards.

Nery
Morales, a spokesman for the Guatemalan Prison Department, said the
mutiny was probably prompted by the arrest Wednesday of two women who
allegedly tried to take drugs into the prison.

He added that the
jail holds 68 gang members, 33 of whom have already been condemned for
various crimes including kidnapping and murder.

Police said they
suspected that calls have been made from that prison to blackmail
businessmen with death threats, and the authorities also suspected that
inmates have coordinated kidnappings and other crimes. (dpa)