Venezuelan inmates take to prison roof to protest shootings, abuse

CARACAS, May 24 (Reuters) – Prisoners at Barinas prison in western Venezuela staged a protest on the roof of the detention center on Sunday, piling up burning mattresses and calling for the dismissal of the prison warden, who they said supervised guards while shooting unarmed inmates.

In the video shared on X by the Venezuelan Prison Observatory, a local non-governmental organization, in which a man with a bullet wound in his chest is seen, a prisoner said, “We want justice. They are shooting us, the guards and guards.”

Prisoners said they were peacefully protesting when prison staff opened fire, leaving some injured.

Venezuelan officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In videos shared by the Observatory, inmates called for the dismissal of newly appointed prison warden Elvis Macuare Guerrero. They said their clothes were taken, they were banned from visiting and they were pressured to sell drugs.

Family members of the inmates clashed outside with National Guard officers armed with riot shields as they tried unsuccessfully to block their entry. They told the NGO they heard screams and explosions minutes after entering.

The NGO said it documented the incidents and reported them to human rights monitors.

Venezuelan prisons face international scrutiny as interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s government passes a law freeing hundreds of people considered political prisoners. In January, the United States attacked Caracas and captured then-President Nicolas Maduro.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by David Gregorio)