Category Archives: Human Rights

A hard day at Uribana (Updated)

Posted on January 25, 2013 by

Today, personnel of the Prisons Ministry along with soldiers of the National Guard tried to inspect Uribana Prison (located outside Barquisimeto) for illegal materials. The procedure was supposed to be low-profile in nature. But a local journalist found out, thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, Prisons, Society, Violence | 27 Comments

Life imitates “Cárcel o Infierno”

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

Just as a friendly reminder that, outside the Chávez Deathwatch bubble, life in Venezuela remains just as fucked up as it ever was, consider this: the pran (read: prison gang leader in charge of day-to-day running of the jail) at Yare … Continue reading →

Posted in Prisons | 14 Comments

President Maduro’s first political prisoner

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

Not content with throwing Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni in jail, chavismo now throws her lawyer in jail for “obstruction of justice.” Great PR move, geniuses.

Posted in Human Rights, Justice System, Nicolas Maduro | 6 Comments

Lovely Revolution of Love

Posted on December 13, 2012 by

CNN highlights what the Revolution is all about.

Posted in Human Rights, Prisons | 8 Comments

The great public safety flop

Posted on December 5, 2012 by

Six months have passed since the first announcement of the 19th safety plan of the Chavernment: Gran Misión “A Toda Vida Venezuela”. How it has fared so far? Experts indicate that the number of crimes has not gone down, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, In Other News, Society, Violence | 6 Comments

Rule of lawlessness

Posted on November 30, 2012 by

If the previous post wasn’t enough, there is a newly released report that confirms this fact: We don’t like laws very much. The Rule of Law Index 2012 (made by the  NGO World Justice Project) finds that Venezuela isn’t just … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, In Other News, Justice System, Society | 89 Comments

Great reading for the day

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

Don’t miss this reportage by the supremely talented Maye Primera (in Spanish), an excerpt of an upcoming book, courtesy of Prodavinci. It’s about the deaths in the Retén de Catia twenty years ago. It’s sad to see that impunity lives … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Politics, Prisons | 2 Comments

Accomplices Galore

Posted on November 24, 2012 by

I’m with Juan here. It’s not as if Judge Afiuni’s rape and torture story is some kind of freak exception. The dire, dire human rights situation inside Venezuelan jails has been public knowledge for years. Venezuelan human rights bodies have … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisons | 64 Comments

8,191,132 rapists

Posted on November 23, 2012 by

Yesterday we learned that Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, Hugo Chávez’s most visible political prisoner, was tortured and raped while in jail. She bravely told her story in a book by Venezuelan journalist Francisco Olivares. The situation at the INOF women’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisons, Violence, Women | 71 Comments

Well, this happened…

Posted on November 12, 2012 by

The Bolivarian Republic won the right to be a member of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. It will join Argentina and Brazil as representatives of Latin America. Two months ago, the Chavernment denounced the American Convention on Human Rights, … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, In Other News, International | 14 Comments

Anything goes in order to win

Posted on November 8, 2012 by

The original talanquera-jumper Francisco Arias Cárdenas faces an uphill battle to win the Zulia State Governorship, even if the comandante presidente won last month in Maracuchistan and he’s keeps giving away houses as the Chavernment’s parallel governor. But the first opinion … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Politics, Prisons | 4 Comments

A peek inside PGV

Posted on September 17, 2012 by

To my chronic frustration, we never get a proper chance to look inside Venezuelan prison walls. That’s why Ross Kemp’s Extreme World documentary on crime in Venezuela deserves such high praise. I’m not able to embed it, but you can watch … Continue reading →

Posted in Prisons, Violence | Tagged , | 44 Comments

The pran is dead. Long live the pran.

Posted on September 10, 2012 by

The night of September 6th witnessed a violent regime change inside Santa Ana Prison (in Tachira State): A shootout between rival factions ended with the deaths of the major prison pran, who went by the unlikely a.k.a. of “El Camomila” … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, Prisons, Society, Violence | 1 Comment

Censored Ad Update

Posted on August 30, 2012 by

The CNE ordered TV stations to take off the air this 30-second spot of Leopoldo Lopez’s political party Voluntad Popular, titled “Security is the Way”. Here’s the ad in question: The Electoral authority has already shut down other ads, including … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Presidential Election, The Media, Violence | 18 Comments

Dragunovs in Hell

Posted on August 22, 2012 by

According to one press report, inmates involved in last weekend’s Yare I riot had at least 100 assault rifles (!!), an M60 machine gun (500 rounds per minute to you and me), a number of grenades, some plastic explosives and several Dragunov sniper rifles. How … Continue reading →

Posted in Military, Prisons, Violence | Tagged