El Dorado, Venezuela
| El Dorado | |
|---|---|
  El Dorado | |
| Coordinates: VE 6°43′0″N 61°37′0″W / 6.71667°N 61.61667°WCoordinates: VE 6°43′0″N 61°37′0″W / 6.71667°N 61.61667°W | |
| Country | Venezuela |
| State | Bolívar State |
| Municipality | Sifontes Municipality |
| Founded | 2 March 1894 |
| Time zone | VST |
El Dorado is a small town in eastern Venezuela. It is situated in Bolívar State, on the Cuyuni River. It is the second-largest town in Sifontes Municipality; the capital of the municipality is Tumeremo.
El Dorado was founded in the 19th century when gold mining was developing in the area. It is on the road to Brazil. El Dorado has a small airport IATA: EOR, ICAO: SVED.
Prison
The town has a prison, the Centro Penitenciario de Oriente El Dorado, which has been described by the Independent as "notorious".[1] The prison is mentioned in the book Papillon which refers to an epoch when the prisoners were assigned to mobile detention camps.
The Venezuelan prison system is generally overcrowded.[2] In 2015 the press reported the completion of a stage in a project to expand the El Dorado prison, providing new facilities for the rehabilitation of offenders.[3]
References
- ↑ "Venezuela prison riot claims 42 lives". The Independent. 1997. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ↑ "Crowded and grim: Inside Venezuela's prisons". Council on Hemispheric Affairs. August 23, 2011.
- ↑ "Inauguran ampliación de cárcel de El Dorado". Correo del Caroni. January 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
External links
- Sifontes Official Web Site (Spanish)