shooting incident in the prison suggests that prison officers have helped with the smuggling of weapons, considers the Panamanian president.

at Least 12 people have been killed in a shooting incident in a prison in Panama.

It informs the local police on the night of Wednesday local time. It writes the news agency Reuters.

another 13 people have been injured during the shooting, which occurred in the jail La Joyita, near the country's capital, Panama City.

the Police report has been seized numerous firearms in the prison. Including five handguns and three firearms with the long run.

the Incident suggests that the prison guards have helped to smuggle weapons into the prison.

It says Panamanian president, Laurentino Cortizo, who has been in post since July, in a statement.

- These weapons are not dropped down from the sky, there has obviously been a form of cooperation in order to have brought the weapons in, " says the president.

the Shooting happened inside the prison, where the inmates are grouped according to the belonging to the various gangs in order to avoid confrontations.

It informs Alexis Munoz, who is the spokesperson for the police.

the Reason for the shooting is being investigated but is not yet known, informs he.

Skudepisoden should supposedly be about a showdown between different factions in the prison. It writes the news agency dpa.

La Joyita prison struggling with problems of overcrowding and the suspicion of systematic ill-treatment of detainees.

Unrest in the prisons is not unusual in Latin america.

In Honduras, the government has on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in the country's prisons.

Thus the prison authorities in Honduras have been replaced with a military command. According to local media, the control the prisons for the next six months.

the Decision has been taken, after that there have been several killings and other violent incidents in the country's prisons.

/ritzau/