An opposition lawmaker from Portuguesa, Venezuela, stated that at least 46 people have died in a riot at the Los Llanos Penitentiary. According to the National Assembly representative for Portuguesa, Maria Beatriz Martinez, dozens of other inmates were injured in the riot that began during an alleged escape attempt.
Martinez said that a grenade exploded during the attempted escape, causing injuries to numerous inmates and one officer. Carlos Toro, the prison's director, is one of the injured individuals during the riot according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a non- governmental organization that works to improve human rights for prisoners in the country.
Martinez tweeted that the riot at the Los Llanos Penitentiary is a reflection of Venezuela's failed state. She also criticized Iris Varela, the Minister of Penitentiary Affairs in Venezuela, for the prison human reform plan. The Ministry of Penitentiary Affairs and Ministry of Information has yet to comment on the incident.
Riots in prisons
There has been an increase of riot cases in prisons of Latin America, not to mention that most of the prisons are unsanitary and overcrowded which is a problem for the government especially since all are introducing containment measures in order to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
Quarantine measures were also implemented, which means that inmates can't receive food brought by relatives and they can't be visited yet either. The observatory stated that 46 inmates had died and the local hospital's emergency department was flooded with dozens of patients which overwhelmed the system.
Martinez also tweeted that the incident was a massacre and the relatives of the victims understood that their loved ones need to be buried in mass graves. The relatives are demanding the bodies to be returned to them.
Aside from the riots, gang violence, and the coronavirus pandemic, Venezuela is engulfed in a political crisis with two rival politicians who are claiming to be the country's legitimate leader. Under the rule of President Nicolas Maduro, the economy of Venezuela has collapsed and there were shortages of basic commodities that became widespread. Millions of people have fled to neighboring countries, including the U.S.
Venezuela was once a wealthy oil nation that is now gripped by the political and economic crisis. Street violence in the country is common and has had around 5 million residents escape in the past few years as the quality of public services decline. There are 30 prisons and 500 jails in Venezuela and all can hold around 110,000 inmates. Human rights officials say that the prisons are violent and are overcrowded. Gangs that traffic deadly weapons and drugs are in control of the operations.
According to the Venezuelan Prison Observatory, a human rights group, there are prisons that can hold 750 inmates but are currently holding 2,500 inmates. A year ago, a similar riot happened in a nearby jail in the state of Portuguese, where 29 inmates died at a police jail that has hundreds of detainees.
Coronavirus update in Venezuela
With the coronavirus pandemic, it is becoming more and more difficult for Venezuelan prisons to practice social distancing and proper hygiene. The country has a total of 357 reported cases of coronavirus in the country, with 10 confirmed deaths.
