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 |
| Climate | Am |
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.
It is on the road to Brazil. El Dorado has a small airport IATA: EOR, ICAO: SVED.
History
El Dorado was founded in the 1890s. Gold mining was developing in the area, and there was a background of international tension caused by the Essequibo border dispute.
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)