Rio de Janeiro: At least 60 inmates were killed, many of them decapitated, in a prison riot in Brazil’s Amazon region on Monday, in the latest such deadly uprising around the world.

Many of the worst riots, by far, have hit Latin America, which is notorious for overcrowded and underfunded prisons.

Some precedents over the last decade:

— January 6, 2007: EL SALVADOR — A riot by gang members in Apanteos prison 60 kilometres (35 miles) west of San Salvador leaves 21 inmates dead.

— November 5, 2007: ARGENTINA — Some 33 prisoners are killed in a riot and subsequent fire that erupts in their prison at Santiago del Estero in northern Argentina.

— October 20, 2008: MEXICO — A battle between prisoners leaves 21 people dead and 20 injured in the eastern city of Reynosa, near the US border.

A month earlier a riot in a jail in Tijuana, also near the US border, left 19 prisoners dead, including two US nationals.

— March 4, 2009: MEXICO — At least 20 people are killed in a prison riot in Ciudad Juarez, considered Mexico’s most dangerous city, near the Texas border town of El Paso.

In August of the same year another riot left around 20 dead in Gomez Palacio prison in the central Mexican state of Durango.

— January 20, 2010: MEXICO — A battle between rival gangs in a jail in Durango leaves 23 dead.

— June 12-July 13, 2011: VENEZUELA — Clashes between prisoners, and a subsequent military intervention at the El Rodeo detention centre, leave around 30 dead. Several prisoners manage to escape.

— August 20, 2012: VENEZUELA — At least 25 are killed in clashes between rival gangs in the Yare I prison near Caracas.

In July, 28 inmates died during a prison riot in Merida in the west.

— November 9, 2012: SRI LANKA — Clashes between prison guards and inmates break out in a high-security prison in Colombo during a search of the prison: 27 die, mostly prisoners.

— January 26-28, 2013: VENEZUELA — A riot in Uribana prison in the northwest breaks out during a search for weapons: at least 58 people die, including a guard and a priest.

— February 11, 2016: MEXICO — Rioting between rival factions of the same cartel leaves at least 49 inmates dead in Topo Chico prison in Monterrey in the northwest.

— March 3, 2016: GUYANA — Sixteen inmates are killed in a riot in an overcrowded high-security prison in Georgetown.

— July 19, 2016: GUATEMALA — 13 are killed during a riot in a prison at Pavon, 17 kilometres from the capital.