The prisoners gathered themselves together to protest against the overcrowding and the bad healthcare inside the prison, especially in the period of a deadly pandemic. More than 600 cases of COVID19-infections are officially registered in the prison of at Miguel Castro Castro, the number of unreported cases will be many times higher , 13 prisoners have died due the virus.

During the fighting, 40 prison guards and 20 cops were injured. To quell the uprising, the reaction used real weapons  and murdered nine prisoners.