WATCH: Venezuela prisoners occupy prison, light mattresses in protest of alleged abuse

Hundreds of inmates at a prison in western Venezuela climbed onto the facility’s roof and set fire to mattresses and sheets during a protest against alleged abuse and shootings by prison guards, according to videos shared by rights groups and media reports.

Prisoners at the Barinas Judicial Internment Centre, about 500km from Caracas, demanded the removal of the prison’s director, accusing him of overseeing violence against unarmed inmates. Large plumes of smoke rose from the prison as protesters waved “SOS” banners and chanted “No more torture!” “We want justice. They are shooting us, the guards and the wardens,” a prisoner said in a video circulated by the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons, a local NGO. The footage reportedly showed a man with a bullet wound to his chest.

Inmates alleged they had been staging a peaceful protest when prison staff opened fire, leaving several people wounded. Venezuelan authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. The prisoners also claimed they had been stripped of their clothes, denied family visits and subjected to mistreatment inside the facility. Reuters reported that the demonstrators specifically called for the dismissal of recently appointed prison director Elvis Macuare Guerrero.

Outside the prison, relatives of inmates clashed with members of Venezuela’s National Guard equipped with riot shields as they tried to prevent officers from entering the facility. Family members told the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons that they heard screams and explosions shortly afterwards. Yelitza Arrollo, whose son is incarcerated at the prison, told AFP she had not heard from him since 8 May. “They are suffering,” she said outside the prison. “We want the director removed.”

The Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons said it was documenting the unrest and reporting developments to international human rights organisations. According to the NGO, around 1,200 male inmates and more than 100 female prisoners joined the protest strike. Venezuela’s prison system has faced growing international scrutiny over alleged overcrowding, abuse and human rights violations. The latest unrest comes months after the government, led by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, approved legislation aimed at releasing hundreds of detainees considered political prisoners.