Venezuelan prison occupation

1000 friends and family members of inmates are currently occupying a prison in Venezuela. This in protest against the judicial system, and prison conditions and brutality. The Venezuelan government believes the occupation to be part of a CIA backed plot to destabilise the country.

Submitted by working class … on January 5, 2012

Around one thousand friends and family members of inmates held within Venezuelan prisons, have today entered the Yare prison near Caracas, and have refused to leave. They are made up of around 800 women, 150 children, and a handful of men.

They are protesting against the barbaric and cramped conditions that Venezuelan prisoners are kept in, the long delays in court proceeding, and the abuse handed out by prison officers. Currently, there are 45,000 prisoners in cells designed for a maximum of 14,000 prisoners.

Prisons in Venezuela are well known for being massively over-crowded and extremely violent. There is an average of around three hundred inmates killed each year, by prison guards, and by other inmates; however, in the last two years over 900 inmates have been killed.

The minister for prisons, Iris Varela, said that, “This is not the right way to apply pressure”, and alleged that protesters are part of a secret CIA backed sabotage operation.

This is the eleventh time in the recent past that an occupation of this kind has happened in Venezuela.

Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, has instructed authorities to negotiate peacefully.

Comments

Caiman del Barrio

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Caiman del Barrio on January 5, 2012

Interesting news! There have been a series of riots in Venezuelan prisons in recent times. Following an outbreak of gang-related violence in one last year (don't think it was Yare, possibly the other one up by Guarenas or Guatire), there was also clashes between the cops and inmates' family members outside.

Will investigate, see if i can get anymore info.

Chilli Sauce

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Chilli Sauce on January 5, 2012

Anybody know how this is being covered by the Trot groups of the Morning Star?

rat

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by rat on January 5, 2012

Just to say that we may patch an article together for Resistance from this info. So cheers for the research and links I'm a self-confessed and committed plagiarist so I think that's ok.

working class …

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by working class … on January 5, 2012

nice one!

RedEd

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by RedEd on January 5, 2012

It should come as no surprise that these CIA backed lumpens are disrupting the the construction of socialism by the worker's state in Venezuela. As Marx teaches us: "the "dangerous class", [lumpenproletariat] the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of the old society, may, here and there, be swept into the movement by a proletarian revolution; its conditions of life, however, prepare it far more for the part of a bribed tool of reactionary intrigue."

Steven.

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Steven. on January 6, 2012

RedEd

It should come as no surprise that these CIA backed lumpens are disrupting the the construction of socialism by the worker's state in Venezuela. As Marx teaches us: "the "dangerous class", [lumpenproletariat] the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of the old society, may, here and there, be swept into the movement by a proletarian revolution; its conditions of life, however, prepare it far more for the part of a bribed tool of reactionary intrigue."

just to point out to casual readers or Americans that this here is called irony

tastybrain

12 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by tastybrain on January 6, 2012

Steven.

RedEd

It should come as no surprise that these CIA backed lumpens are disrupting the the construction of socialism by the worker's state in Venezuela. As Marx teaches us: "the "dangerous class", [lumpenproletariat] the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of the old society, may, here and there, be swept into the movement by a proletarian revolution; its conditions of life, however, prepare it far more for the part of a bribed tool of reactionary intrigue."

just to point out to casual readers or Americans that this here is called irony

I got it, don't worry.

Or maybe I didn't. I know RedEd is being ironic, but is Marx?