Category Archives: Human Rights

Workplace bullying as public policy

Posted on April 23, 2013 by

In the last few days, mutiple press reports indicate that some public sector workers have been fired and others have suffered harassment because of their political stance after the presidential election. Audio clips of several heads of public bodies (like … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, Human Rights, In Other News, Labor Movement, Misiones, Opposition, Presidential Election, Society | 32 Comments

Jail House Night-Club, cont.

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

Looks like the El Rodeo I’s month-old nightclub won’t the only one up and running in the Venezuelan prison system. According to El Nacional’s crime reporter Thabata Molina, this Good Thrusday will be the brand new opening of a night-club … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, Prisons | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Assad and Maduro, still BFFs

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

In its last meeting, the UN Human Rights Council voted to extend the probe of the ongoing Syrian civil war until next year. The resolution was approved by 41 votes to 1, with five countries abstaining: Ecuador, India, Kazakhstan, Philippines … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, International, Nicolas Maduro | 12 Comments

Jail House Night-Club

Posted on March 24, 2013 by

Remember that nightclub in Tocorón Prison from last year? Well, it now has serious competition from a brand new place inside El Rodeo I in Guatire, just outside Caracas. It opened last month with a huge party including giant screens, a … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, Prisons | 32 Comments

The Cosa Nostrification of Construction Workers’ Unions

Posted on March 12, 2013 by

José Torres, head of the Valencia Subway workers’ union (seen on the photograph) died yesterday of his injuries after been shot outside of his house two weeks ago. Two weeks before his shooting, he publicly denounced the slow pace of … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, In Other News, Labor Movement, Society | 23 Comments

A rare moment of admission

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

It’s been easy to forget these last few days that all the “normal” problems of the country are still there just the same. Last week, for instance, Interior Minister Néstor Reverol kindly informed us that 16,000 murders took place in … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Politics, Society, Violence | 12 Comments

27F, from East to West

Posted on February 28, 2013 by

Two articles, both published by Prodavinci (in Spanish), are the best thing I’ve read lately on the Caracazo. The first, by Mayé Primera, tells the story of Hilda Páez, whose son Richard was killed by a soldier’s stray bullet. Páez … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Society | Tagged | 18 Comments

Excess baggage

Posted on February 26, 2013 by

Just when you think you have heard everything about the Venezuelan prison system, Ultimas Noticias nos trae esta perlita… A young woman was leaving Yare II Prison last Sunday afternoon after finishing her visit and she was carrying a heavy … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisons, Society | 10 Comments

Three from the FP

Posted on February 25, 2013 by

Three articles you might find interesting in Foreign Policy. The first is a searing summary of Hugo Chávez’s impact on Venezuelan politics, by our friend Phil Gunson. It’s a well written wrapup of the Chávez years that almost reads like … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Politics, The Economy | 4 Comments

Heckuvajob, Iris!

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

Prisons Minister Iris Varela admitted in an interview with Últimas Noticias that their staff have access to only seven of the thirty prisons active in Venezuela today. She also blamed last month’s events in Uribana to possible score-setting between “negative … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, In Other News, Prisons, Society | 8 Comments

Bellum pranes contra omnes

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

Sometimes the power of the pranes, the defacto rulers of Venezuelan prisons, is not confined to the walls of the jails. They want to impose their will outside and they’re not afraid of using violence to prove it. One businessman … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisons, Society, Violence | 5 Comments

What’s going on at CICPC town?

Posted on February 7, 2013 by

Almost eight months after a series of substancial reforms were announced in Venezuela’s criminal investigations police (CICPC, formally the PTJ), a brief report by the Comptroller General’s Office does not make for hopeful reading. The biggest problem right now is that … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, In Other News, Justice System, Society | 12 Comments

The PGV is just one small glimpse of hell

Posted on February 6, 2013 by

The Guardian’s Virginia Lopez offers a inside look into the General Penitentiary of Venezuela (the PGV), located in Guárico State. While she’s not the first journalist to go inside this prison, she offers a hair-raising report. The PGV is dubbed … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisons, Society | 8 Comments

Games people play

Posted on January 30, 2013 by

When the final chapter in chavismo is written (and I’m one of the few that think this will happen sooner than most think) one of its most glaring mistakes will be how they sacrificed governance for politics. We elect governments, … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Politics, Prisons, The Media | 23 Comments

Uribana is closed, but the crisis isn’t over

Posted on January 29, 2013 by

After officially acknowledging the death of 58 people in the violent events of January 25th, Prisons Minister Iris Varela ordered the transfer of Uribana Prison’s remaining inmates to other jails. Most of them are now ensconced in Yaracuy State Prison … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisons, Society, Violence | 9 Comments