EFE.— The NGO Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) reported on Monday the death of a man held in a prison facility in Sucre state (northeastern Venezuela), bringing the number of people who have died in state custody since April to 21, according to the organization.
“How many more deaths must occur before authorities acknowledge the humanitarian emergency inside prisons and police detention centers?” OVP wrote on X.
In the organization’s view, these deaths do not represent “a series of isolated cases” but rather “a situation that demands urgent action from the competent national authorities and continuous monitoring by international human rights protection mechanisms.”
The organization stated that every death linked to a lack of medical care, delays in hospital transfers, or conditions incompatible with human dignity serves as a warning sign for national and international bodies responsible for protecting human rights.
However, it argued that these cases show that authorities continue to ignore international recommendations and continue to leave the protection of life inside detention centers unresolved.
According to the NGO, family members in Venezuela assume responsibilities that belong to the government, including supplying food, medicines, and medical supplies. They also arrange hospital transfers in attempts to save the lives of their loved ones.
Humberto Prado, director of OVP, told EFE that one of the deceased was a political prisoner and former pro-government councilman José Manuel García, 31, who died on May 9, 2026, in the detention cells of the Municipal Police of Anaco, in Anzoátegui state (eastern Venezuela).
Last Friday, the observatory reported the death of a man at a detention facility in Zulia state (northwestern Venezuela, on the Colombian border) and called for an investigation.
According to OVP, prisons and police detention centers across Venezuela claimed the lives of 181 inmates during 2025, most of them due to a lack of medical care. That figure represents an increase of more than 50 percent compared with the previous year.
Based on records from 85 percent of detention facilities, the observatory reported that 158 deaths occurred in prisons and 23 in police detention centers. It also stated that a lack of medical care caused 151 of those deaths.
OVP also warned about suicide attempts and reiterated its complaints regarding cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in the country’s prisons.
