Inmates at Barinas prison burned mattresses and demanded the removal of the facility’s director, accusing guards of opening fire during what they described as a peaceful protest.
Inmates at a prison in western Venezuela climbed onto the roof of the Barinas detention facility and set mattresses alight in a dramatic protest against alleged abuse, shootings and harsh treatment by prison authorities.
The unrest erupted on Sunday at Barinas prison, about 500km from Caracas, where prisoners gathered on the roof as smoke rose from burning mattresses and sheets. Videos shared by the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons showed inmates chanting for justice and calling for an end to alleged torture. Some held or displayed makeshift “SOS” messages as they demanded outside attention to conditions inside the facility.
The inmates accused prison staff of opening fire while they were carrying out what they described as a peaceful protest. In one video circulated by the prison rights group, a prisoner with an apparent chest wound said guards and wardens were shooting at them. Venezuelan authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the allegations.
Prisoners also called for the removal of the recently appointed prison director, Elvis Macuare Guerrero. According to accounts shared by the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons, inmates alleged they had been stripped of clothing, denied family visits and pressured to take part in drug sales inside the facility. These claims have not been independently verified, but the NGO said it was documenting the events and reporting them to human rights organizations.
The protest quickly spread tension beyond the prison walls. Relatives of inmates gathered outside the facility and clashed with National Guard officers, who blocked their entry. Family members told the rights group they heard screams and explosions after security forces moved inside.
The incident has drawn renewed attention to Venezuela’s troubled prison system, long criticized by human rights groups for overcrowding, violence, weak oversight and allegations of mistreatment. Past prison crises in the country have often involved clashes between inmates and security forces, as well as complaints from families who say they receive little official information during emergencies.
Sunday’s rooftop protest was striking not only for its visual intensity, but for the desperation of its message. By setting fire to mattresses and occupying the roof, the prisoners appeared to be trying to force their allegations into public view in a country where prison conditions are often difficult to monitor independently.
The immediate priority now is whether authorities will allow outside verification of what happened inside Barinas prison, including the number of wounded, the use of firearms, and the treatment of inmates before and after the protest. Without a transparent investigation, the episode risks becoming another unresolved flashpoint in Venezuela’s penal system — one where the competing accounts of prisoners, families and authorities remain impossible to reconcile.
