In a press statement on the first day of the riot, minister of penitentiary services Iris Varela laid blame on the local media for reporting the prison search ahead of time, stating that many of the deaths were a "settling of scores" among rival prison gangs.
Dalam sebuah pernyataan pers pada hari pertama kerusuhan, Menteri Keamanan Iris Varela menyalahkan media setempat karena melaporkan penggeledahan penjara sebelum dilaksanakan dan banyak korban tewas dikarenakan "penyamaan skor" di antara geng-geng penjara.