El Dorado, Venezuela

El Dorado
El Dorado
Coordinates: VE 6°43′0″N 61°37′0″W / 6.71667°N 61.61667°W / 6.71667; -61.61667Coordinates: VE 6°43′0″N 61°37′0″W / 6.71667°N 61.61667°W / 6.71667; -61.61667
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

External links


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