At least 35 inmates are dead and 20 in comas at the David Viloria Prison, with the Venezuelan government claiming they committed mass suicide and human rights groups suspecting they were poisoned by prison authorities
Last Monday, inmates at the David Viloria Prison in Lara, Venezuela went on a hunger strike for better conditions. Then a large group of inmates raided the prison infirmary where they drank pure alcohol which they mixed with prescription drugs. At least 35 of the inmates died and 20 out of 100 inmates being treated for drinking the mixture of alcohol and drugs are in comas.
The Venezuelan government claims the inmates wanted to commit mass suicide. Human rights groups, however, suspect they were poisoned by prison authorities.
The government sent in the National Guard to control the situation and transferred hundreds of inmates to other prisons. On Thursday, police arrested the prison’s warden. He is expected to be charged in connection with the inmate deaths.
The International Center for Prison Studies says that Venezuela’s 32 prisons are the fifth-most crowded correctional facilities in the world, holding three times their intended capacity. The David Viloria Prison was designed to hold 850 inmates but it is believed the prison had 3,000 inmates when the hunger strike began.
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