Cannibalistic inmates at a notorious Brazilian jail boast of hosting a 'HUMAN BARBECUE' in sick video after murderous riots

• The video was recorded at the Alcacuz prison, in the north-east of Brazil
• It was the scene of gruesome violence between two rival gangs last weekend
• Prisoners filmed preparing barbecue were said to belong to a drug gang called the Family of the North and a Rio de Janeiro-based cartel, the Red Command
• The man whose meat they claimed to be barbecuing was said to be a member of the rival First Capital Command (PCC) based in Sao Paulo 
• At least 126 people have been killed in a spate of prison violence since the beginning of the year in Brazil 

Inmates at a notorious Brazilian jail that was the scene of murderous infighting between rival drug gangs last week have boasted of having a barbecue with human flesh in this disturbing footage.

The prisoners gloated as they showed off pieces of meat on a skewer over a bonfire and claimed they were toasting the remains of a rival.

The video was recorded at the Alcacuz prison which was the scene of gruesome violence between two rival gangs last weekend when 26 inmates were massacred, most of them beheaded.

Military police were only able to restore some semblance of control at the prison, in the north-eastern city on Natal, on Saturday.

They are now desperately trying to separate rival gangs by building a wall of shipping containers as Brazil's prisons descend into chaos. 

The prisoners filmed preparing the barbecue were said to belong to an Amazon drug cartel called the Family of the North and a Rio de Janeiro-based drugs gang called the Red Command.

The man whose meat they claimed to be barbecuing was said to be a member of the First Capital Command (PCC) based in Sao Paulo which kept the peace for years with the Red Command before their loose alliance fell apart last year and resulted in the spate of prison killings.

One of the bare-chested prisoners recorded on film, who made no attempt to hide his face, shouted repeatedly: 'Churrasco do PCC', meaning 'PCC Steak.'

Another inmate, who was brandishing a machete-style knife and had several front teeth missing, said: 'And this is only the beginning.'

Pointing towards the meat on a skewer, he chillingly added: 'Today it was us and they paid.'

One of the men even made a 'V' for 'Victory' sign to the mobile phone that recorded the footage.  

The overcrowded prisons in Brazil are now the battleground in a quickly escalating war between the PCC and the Red Command, the nation's two biggest drug gangs.

For two decades, the two factions maintained a working relationship, ensuring a steady flow of drugs and arms over Brazil's porous border. 

But about six months ago, the PCC began trying to muscle the Red Command out of key drug routes.

The PCC has aggressively moved into new areas in the north and northeast of Brazil, where the deadly prison riots have taken place in recent weeks. 

In response, the Red Command allied itself with local gangs, enlisting them to take on the PCC. 

The killings began on New Year's Day, when the powerful North Family gang, an ally of the Red Command, killed 56 inmates at a prison in Amazonas state, mostly PCC members.

The North Family controls a lucrative cocaine route along the Solimoes, a branch of the Amazon that flows from Colombia and Peru, the world's top two cocaine-producing nations.  

The PCC retaliated on January 6 by killing 33 inmates at the Monte Cristo prison in the neighboring state of Roraima.

Then at Alcacuz, PCC members slaughtered rivals belonging to the 'Crime Union of RN' - a gang carrying the state's initials.

PCC members attacked rivals with machetes and knives, beheading and quartering many of the 26 killed. 

Following that, Brazilian police said they had interrogated five inmates they believe were responsible for the killings.

Of the 26 bodies previously sent to the medical examiner, 22 have so far been identified.

Experts say the violence is part of a war between drug gangs battling for control of one of the world's most important cocaine markets and trafficking routes.

Brazil shares borders with Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, the world's three biggest cocaine producers. It is a key route for trafficking the drug to Europe. 

The series of riots and grisly killings in Latin America's largest country has also put a spotlight on overcrowding, lack of funding and inadequate levels of staff in the prison system.

For instance, Alcacuz is home to more than 1,000 inmates, though it was built for 620. 

Images on TV and in newspapers of prisoners wielding weapons and cellphones have embarrassed President Michel Temer and put pressure on his administration to reform the system.