Venezuelan prison director sacked as inmates allege mistreatment

The director of Injuba prison in Barinas, Venezuela, Elvis Macuare Guerrero, was dismissed following violent clashes between inmates and security forces amid allegations of mistreatment. The inmates had accused Macuare, who had been in charge for only a week, of halting family visits, ordering violent cell searches, and subjecting prisoners to beatings and solitary confinement. The unrest escalated into a protest involving inmates climbing onto the prison roof and setting fire to mattresses and bed sheets, prompting the deployment of additional security forces. The prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the allegations of abuse and torture. Footage released by the Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) showed injured inmates and captured their chants demanding justice. Despite the director’s removal, some prisoners remained on the roof, and over 100 inmates were transferred to other facilities without informing their families, causing growing anxiety among relatives. The OVP and other human rights organizations have long criticized the poor conditions in Venezuelan prisons, highlighting that many facilities fail to meet basic legal standards. This incident occurs against a backdrop of ongoing concerns about human rights abuses in Venezuela’s penitentiary system. While the recent U.S. military operation in Caracas led to the release of hundreds of political prisoners, more than 400 remain incarcerated, according to Foro Penal. Injuba is not typically known for housing political prisoners, but the Venezuela Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners condemned the use of punishment, hunger, solitary confinement, and torture as systemic tools to control inmates. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has also reported continued torture allegations in Venezuelan detention centers following the ousting of Nicolás Maduro. The latest events at Injuba underscore persistent challenges in addressing prison conditions and human rights violations in Venezuela’s justice system.