When dictators ruled Venezuela, the country's prisons were kept in lock-and-key efficiency. This is one thing dictators are particular about. Under the left-liberal government of President Rómulo Betancourt, neither the cops nor the jails are what they used to be. Prisons are run down and poorly managed, and jail breaks are a daily occurrence.
At 9 a.m. one morning last week, at Caracas' big La Planta jail, a dope suspect named José Rafael Cariola ("El Gorila") jumped a guard and grabbed his rifle. El Gorila and his cronies then stalked one guard after another until by late morning they...
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