This Sunday there was a moment of strong tension in Venezuela when registering a violent riot in one of the dungeons of a Bolivarian National Police (PNB) prison in the city of Carabobo. There, a A group of prisoners kidnapped three uniformed men, who are hospitalized in a delicate state of health.
So far no security agency has ruled on what happened. Meanwhile, the known details were published by the Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) on its social networks.
According to the NGO, following tense negotiations, 72 inmates were transferred to the Tocuyito prison. That was one of the conditions for the inmates to free the policemen, who were transferred to the Ciudad Hospitalaria Dr. Enrique Tejera. One of them was diagnosed with polytrauma and skull fracture.
A group of relatives approached the vicinity of the prison and told the OVP that the prisoners rioted due to the death of a fellow diabetic, who apparently died due to lack of medical care. In addition, they denounced that the inmates are victims of overcrowding and constant violations of their human rights.
“They are tired of the Guard mistreating them, mistreating their relatives (…) Yesterday the prisoners started calling because there was one of the prisoners, who suffers from sugar, was convulsing due to fever. None of the policemen wanted to help the prisoner, until they took him out. When they took him out they threw him into the hallway. The lord died. He died because of the police, due to medical negligence, ”said a woman who was at the scene before the press.
In addition, the families demand a list of the inmates who were transferred tonight to the Tocuyito prison. According to OVP, “They assure that until now they have not been given any information regarding their whereregardings or state of health.”
According to police sources, 47 inmates were the ones who staged the riot in the police center that houses 251 prisoners.
“The riot is led by 47 inmates in one of the five cells of this police headquarters where there should be a maximum of 10 people,” he told the agency. AFP Carolina Girondirector of the Venezuelan Prison Observatory.
In one of the videos published by OVP, it can be seen how one of the PNB officers is pinned once morest the door that divides the police station from the dungeons. In the midst of the tension, one of the inmates tells him “don’t kill him yet”.
In another video, two police officers are seen trying to negotiate with the inmates, while wielding a kind of knife on the neck of the kidnapped uniformed officer.
In the images that circulated, the other two kidnapped troops are not seen.
One of the officers allegedly suffered injuries to his ear.
The Venezuelan NGO also shared images of several relatives of the prisoners, who approached the place when they learned what was happening and denounced that the prisoners are “victims of constant violations of their human rights.”
Four relatives entered the premises to mediate, according to the OVP, while the Venezuelan authorities have not commented on the incident.
The Venezuelan Prison Observatory reported that a prosecutor from the Public Ministry (MP) participated in the negotiations with the detainees.
The OVP estimates that Venezuelan prisons are at 148% capacity.
“Venezuela has a capacity for 20,000 prisoners and there are 32,000 in prisons, while in police cells there are regarding 35,000 detainees”Giron pointed out. In the dungeons of Los Guayos, he added, “there are 251 prisoners and the structure has five dungeons, that should be a maximum of 40 people and there are 251, many sleep standing up.”
Those preventive detention centers were not designed to house inmates for more than 72 hours. “And there are people there who are even serving sentences,” warned the expert. “If family members don’t bring them food, these people don’t eat, they also depend on the medicines they can provide. There is no water, they don’t pick up the garbage…”
The dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly promised a “humanization” of prisons, which has not materialized so far.
With information from the Venezuelan Prison Observatory and AFP
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