Monday, May 25, 2026, 09:57
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Detainees claim that their rights are not being respected. PHOTO: Pixabay
Hundreds of inmates have rioted in a prison in western Venezuela, climbing onto the prison’s roof and accusing authorities of torture and abuse. The protest at the detention center in Barinas has degenerated into fires and confrontations with law enforcement, while the relatives of the detainees are demanding the intervention of the authorities and the dismissal of the prison management.
Many had their faces covered. Large columns of smoke were rising from the Barinas Judicial Boarding School (Injuba), about 500 km from Caracas, it shows
https://www.mediafax.ro/externe/sute-de-tinuti-din-venezuela-preiau-controlul-asupra-unei-inchisori-si-denunta-torturile-23742917
The inmates set fire to the mattresses and sheets. Police equipped with shields took up positions around the institution, while dozens of relatives of the inmates gathered, worried about the situation.
The NGO Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones (OVP) wrote in a social media post that “1,200 men and over 100 women deprived of their liberty at the Barinas Judicial Detention Center went on strike.”
“The Ministry of Penitentiary Services ignores the prisoners, who denounce the mistreatment for more than a week: they are not listened to, on the contrary, they are shot at and gassed,” adds OVP.
In April, the government confirmed the death of five people during a riot in Yare III maximum security prison (70 km from Caracas).
In 2023, ousted president Nicolás Maduro ordered a military operation to crack down on the country’s main prisons, which had been controlled by gangs for years.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who succeeded Maduro after his capture by the US military in January, has promised, among other things, judicial reform.
