Hundreds of inmates took control of a prison in western Venezuela on Sunday, protesting alleged torture and demanding the removal of the prison director, AFP reports.Thick smoke billowed from the Barinas Judicial Detention Center after prisoners set mattresses and sheets on fire and chanted, “No more torture!”.Families allege brutal treatment inside prisonOutside the prison, anxious relatives gathered demanding information about inmates and accusing authorities of severe abuse.One woman, Yelitza Arrollo, told AFP reporters that she had not heard from her imprisoned son since May 8 and alleged inmates were being beaten, electrocuted, burned and mistreated inside the facility.Venezuela’s prison system faces renewed scrutinyHuman rights groups have long criticised Venezuelan prisons over overcrowding, food shortages, lack of medical care and allegations of systematic abuse.The latest unrest comes months after five people died during a riot at the high-security Yare III prison near Caracas.UN raised concern earlierAs cited by BBC, United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk raised concern about the issue in March 2026 saying, “detainees have continued to be tortured in Venezuela following the seizure of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces.“In 2023, former President Nicolás Maduro had ordered military interventions in major prisons that were allegedly controlled by criminal gangs for years. Maduro was later ousted in January 2026 during a US operation.Maduro was replaced by former Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez, under whose leadership an amnesty bill has been passed into law.Türk welcomed the amnesty law but warned that “structural and systemic human rights concerns have persisted” in Venezuela despite Maduro’s ousting.What is Amnesty law?The UN states that amnesty is aimed at promoting peace, democratic coexistence and national reconciliation as the South American country enters a new era following the seizure of former President Nicolas Maduro by the United States.It was passed unanimously on 5 February by Venezuelan legislators.Alex Neve, a member of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Venezuela said, “The voices of the countless Venezuelans whose rights have been violated in the country’s prisons, as well as the civil society organizations who have assisted and defended them, must be at the centre of this process.”
