Venezuela Prison Riot: Inmates Set Mattresses Ablaze in Barinas Over Alleged Guard Shootings

Venezuela Prison Riot: Inmates Set Mattresses Ablaze in Barinas Over Alleged Guard Shootings

CARACAS — Inmates at Venezuela’s Barinas prison occupied the facility’s roof on Sunday, setting mattresses ablaze and hanging SOS banners in protest after they say prison guards opened fire on unarmed prisoners who were demonstrating peacefully against torture and abuse.

Large columns of smoke rose from the prison — located roughly 310 miles southwest of Caracas in Venezuela’s western zone — as more than a dozen inmates gathered on the roof, chanting “No more torture!” They called for the removal of the facility’s director, whom they accused of overseeing the shootings, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons, a local NGO that documented and distributed footage of the incident.

In a video shared by the NGO, one man is seen with a gunshot wound to his chest. Inmates said they were shot while in the middle of a peaceful protest. Venezuelan authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

The protest began after inmates said their clothing was confiscated and family visits were banned. Relatives of prisoners gathered outside the prison walls and clashed with National Guard officers wielding riot shields as they tried to prevent guards from entering the facility. Family members told the NGO they heard screams and explosions minutes after the confrontation escalated.

“We want justice. They are shooting us, the guards and the wardens,” one prisoner said in a video recorded from the roof. According to the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons, the facility holds roughly 1,200 men and more than 100 women.

The NGO said it was documenting the events and reporting them to international human rights watchdogs. A relative outside the prison, Yelitza Arrollo, told AFP she had not heard from her son — an inmate at Barinas — since May 8. “They are suffering,” she said. “We want the director removed.”

Venezuela’s prison system has long faced criticism from human rights organizations over overcrowding, violence, and allegations of abuse. No official death toll has been confirmed from Sunday’s incident, and the scale of injuries remained unclear as of Monday.

The protest came as Venezuela continues to navigate political uncertainty following a turbulent period that has seen widespread international concern over governance and human rights in the country.