In death, as he was in life, convicted Venezuelan drug trafficker Teófilo Rodríguez Cazorla was not a discreet man.
Better known by his nickname El Conejo, or The Rabbit, Rodríguez was shot dead inside his vehicle before dawn on Sunday outside a nightclub in Porlamar, the biggest city on the tourist island of Margarita. The car was riddled with about 70 bullets.
The following day El Conejo's body was ceremoniously taken to the island's San Antonio prison, where he was an inmate — in theory. As the "boss" of the jail, he appeared to come and go pretty much as he pleased.
When the coffin arrived at the prison dozens of prisoners took the the roof and bid their leader farewell with volleys of automatic gunfire. Outside the gates a contingent of the Bolivarian National Guard stood by impassively as the shots crackled.
El Conejo's burial took place on Tuesday with crowds accompanying the funeral procession to the cemetery. Main roads were shut, as well as some schools.
Videos of El Conejo's funeral rites circulating widely on social media have shone a spotlight on the phenomenon of the "pranes," or "bosses," who control what goes on within many of Venezuela's prisons, as well as on the government's apparent reluctance to do much about it.
