Company that ran Texas prison where inmates rioted says government canceled its contract

A private company that operated a South Texas prison where an inmate riot left the facility uninhabitable says its contract with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons has been canceled.

Utah-based Management & Training Corp. ran Willacy County Correctional Center, the site of last month's uprising. Spokesman Issa Arnita said in a statement Monday night that the bureau has canceled its contract because the prison population has dropped and the beds are no longer needed.

All 2,834 inmates have been relocated to other facilities around Texas since the uprising, which MTC said was started because the prisoners wanted a transfer.

Arnita says MTC will work with the county to try to find another client for the facility.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesman couldn't immediately confirm the cancellation but said he'd have more information Tuesday.