IACHR shows concern about security crisis at Venezuelan jail

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a communiqué voicing concern about the security crisis that took place at an incarceration facility known as La Planta Prison, located southwest Caracas.

The OAS body called on the government of Venezuela to investigate the events that unfolded, investigate and punish those responsible for bringing weapons into the facility, inform the Commission about the transfer of inmates to other prisons, and adopt the relevant measures to guarantee the life and safety of the prisoners who were transferred.

"Given that the possession of weapons by inmates has been seen not only at La Planta Prison but at other prisons in Venezuela, the IACHR once again calls on the State to immediately adopt measures to disarm the prison population and exercise effective controls over the entry of weapons into prisons in order to reduce rates of prison violence and to keep similar events from happening again," added the communiqué.

The Inter-American Commission also expressed concern about public statements made by high-level authorities of the State, "discrediting the work of human rights organizations that promote the rights of persons deprived of liberty and their families."