A riot in a Venezuelan prison leaves at least 46 dead | International

A skirmish of a riot of inmates in a prison in western Venezuela left at least 46 dead and some reports report up to 50 injured. The Minister of Penitentiary Service, Iris Varela, confirmed the fact without specifying the number of deceased. He assured in a local media that it was an attempted escape from the inmates of the so-called Los Llanos prison, located in the city of Guanare, in the Venezuelan state of Portuguesa.

Deputy María Beatriz Martínez said that the inmates were at the door of the Los Llanos Penitentiary Center, while they were in dialogue with the prison director and a military man in charge of prison security, when the riot occurred.

“Unofficially there is talk of more than 40 deaths. And although it is intended to be seen as a consequence of a frustrated escape, family members with whom I have spoken say that the riot occurred due to the prohibition of entering prison food for those deprived of liberty. They are hungry, “said Martinez.

The deputy said that the prisoners had a protest early and tried to negotiate with the authorities. At one point the disturbance was greater and a group attempted to break the fence and were repelled by the security forces. Then there were two more armed clashes between prisoners and guards.

During the fray, the inmates used firearms and blades, as well as sharp objects and a grenade. The prison director, Carlos Toro, was seriously injured from a stab in the back and the head. A custodian was also injured by shrapnel from a grenade thrown by one of the inmates. The most seriously injured were transferred to the Dr. Miguel Oraá hospital. In the vicinity of the prison, a morgue was improvised to identify the bodies.

As all Venezuela’s prisonsThis prison is seriously overcrowded. It was built to house 750 inmates and inside there are more than 2,500 men in serious health conditions, with cases of diseases such as tuberculosis, scabies and hepatitis, denounced the activist Humberto Prado, commissioner of Juan Guaidó for Human Rights.

Most of the prisoners in Venezuela are fed by their families. After almost 50 days of quarantine for the coronavirus, in which visits to relatives have been suspended to avoid infections, the mobility difficulties in the country due to the lack of gasoline and the vehicle movement restrictions imposed by the Government of Nicolás Maduro They have further complicated the logistics of family members to serve detainees.

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