(Public Domain Image, "Venezuela Prison Riot," courtesy of Flickr) [1]
Income Distribution
The massive income distribution gap, never-ending gang violence, and shortages of food, water, electricity, and medical care have shaped the way that Venezuela has progressed as a nation since the 1990s. Over the last five years, hyperinflation of the Bolivar has skyrocketed, leaving families unable to pay for basic necessities because of the extremely high prices. Many citizens have had to turn to illegal practices in order to attempt to compete with unemployment and high political corruption. Cont...
Infrastructure & Management of Prisons
Though there are no official statistics, “...Venezuela became the most violent country not at war in the world,” with over 27,800 violent deaths in 2015 alone. This directly correlates to the status of Venezuela’s prison systems which, for the most part, are governed by armed gang members. Prisons in Venezuela are overcrowded, violent, and inhumane. There are 35 prison institutions in Venezuela that are bursting with overcapacity. In 2015, penitentiary locations were at a 290% capacity rate. In addition to this, torture and abuse happen frequently but are rarely reported. Cont...
Treatment of the Incarcerated
Venezuela itself has a problematic lack of food for their incarcerated citizens, meaning that, some prisoners must survive off of a single meal a day. According to reports from family members that have visited their loved ones in jail, the food they are served is likely to be spoiled. Some institutions don’t even provide their inmates with food and prisoners rely on what relatives bring on their visits. In addition to the food shortage, good hygiene and health in Venezuelan prisons are a distant memory. The water is undrinkable and again prisoners rely on the provisions their family members bring. Many prisons do not have sewer systems or have ones in extreme states of disrepair. At one facility, there is no area to deposit the prison waste so they divert it to the prisons basketball court. Cont...
Sources
1. Venezuela, Diariocritico de. “VENEZUELA-PRISON-RIOT.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 28 Jan. 2013, www.flickr.com/photos/diariocriticove/8422860897.
2. Venezuelan Prison Observatory. “Prisons in Venezuela.” Prison Insider, www.prison-insider.com/countryprofile/prisonsinvzla#introduction-577e269702da8.
3. “World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems: Venezuela.” Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 1 June 1993, www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=3808.
2. Venezuelan Prison Observatory. “Prisons in Venezuela.” Prison Insider, www.prison-insider.com/countryprofile/prisonsinvzla#introduction-577e269702da8.
3. “World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems: Venezuela.” Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 1 June 1993, www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=3808.