Inside Venezuela’s brutal jails where inmates carry...

VENEZUELAN prisons are plagued by gangs who prowl the corridors armed with machine guns, grenades and knives - terrorising inmates and guards alike. Despite President Nicolas Maduro executing a crackdown after his disputable re-election last year, thugs are still running circles around the guards. Venezuela's most infamous prison, Tocoron, once doubled as the headquarters for the bloodthirsty gang Tren de Aragua.

Image Credit: The Sun [Gay prisoners are forced to live on cell block roofs deemed 'renegades']

The jailhouse was governed by criminal gangs led by a "pran," or kingpin, who enforced practically a dictatorship over the site and tormented its inmates. Gang members were free to roam inside the jail, which had hotel-like facilities such as a pool, nightclub, and even a zoo. They toted grenades and massive machine guns as they ran market stalls selling crack cocaine. And wives, girlfriends and kids were also allowed to come and go virtually as they pleased with bizarre Disney-themed parties, music festivals and raves held at the weekends.

Image Credit: The Sun [Inmates holding knives at a prison window during a riot.]

Gay inmates were also banished to live on the roofs. Those that broke the "rules" were shot by ruthless enforcers called 'Watchmen' using stolen cop guns made to order in specialised jailhouse workshops. Despite President Marudo orchestrating a crackdown on Tocoron in 2023, Amnesty International told The Sun that the prison still remains in a dire state - with whom it's being run by remaining "unknown".

Image Credit: The Sun [Person holding a rifle in a crowd.]

Valentina Ballesta, Amnesty International's Deputy Director of Research for South America said that inmates in Tocoron only receive "two glasses of water per day" and are "lucky" if they receive two meals a day - but they're "often rotten or bad". She added that the governmental intervention "ended up being a very complicated situation of violence and concerns over human rights violations". Other reports support the claim that Maduro ending the "pranato" era of prisons, predominantly Tocoro, is unfounded.

Image Credit: The Sun [Person with a grenade in their waistband.]

The takeovers resulted in very little significant arrests, with just officials from the Ministry of Penitentiary Services detained, according to reports. Meanwhile the location of Tren de Aragua's primary leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, otherwise known as Nino Guerrero, who was being held in Tocoron, remains unknown. Valentina also explained how, due to the dire conditions imprisoned men, women and children are kept in, their families have to step in to ensure they are kept alive.

Image Credit: The Sun [Person sitting at a table with various small items and a water bottle.]

Valentina told The Sun: " By September last year, we are talking about 184 per cent of [the prisons] exceeded capacity. " The state does not provide or fulfill their basic needs. "I'm talking about food, water and medicines and even like basic goods that you need, for example, a bed or clothes. "This is the general practice - when a person is imprisoned, then their families are also urged, basically, to fulfill their family needs.

Image Credit: The Sun [Dark photo of a crowd at a dimly lit event, with a laser light projection on the ceiling.]

"They have to go, for example, almost every day to bring them food or to provide them water and the amount of arbitrariness around how this happened and how the system works is absolutely in detriment of human rights.". A report conducted by Amnesty International found that there were around 129 children kept under detention conditions with adults who were subjected to torture. Valentina explained how there was also evidence of the children having "suicidal thoughts" due to what they were put through with detention centres used "as a form of punishment".

Image Credit: The Sun [Several handguns and a drill on a wooden surface.]

The children were detained for political protests following Maduro's disputable re-election last year. Other protesters who were detained following the voting uproar have even been thrown into the gang-run Tocoron. Valentina said: " We've seen in the last couple of months the government sending out those who have been under detention after the elections being sent out to this [Tocoron] prison center.

Image Credit: The Sun [Venezuelan National Guard members outside a prison.]

"So putting people that we believe are arbitrarily detained under the risk and threat of this amount of violence.". She added that the "life and integrity of those in prison in these centres are not guaranteed by the state". On July 28 last year, Venezuelans cast ballots for their next president - but shortly after the polls closed, Maduro was declared the winner by election officials. But the result was announced with no breakdown of voting statistics, with the opposition coalition slamming Maduro and accusing his government of foul play.

Image Credit: The Sun [Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello at an event.]

It then released what appeared to be copies of the official voting tallies which showed Maduro had lost by a wide margin. Thousands of protesters were locked up and, just as the children had endured, other political prisoners were subjected to torture too. Valentina said: "We've seen many cases of people being denied of visits or being denied of their medicines or being even denied of health services.

Image Credit: The Sun [Tren del Llano gang members posing with firearms.]

" We have seen, for example, consistent reports that detention centers were shut down and no inmates were granted visits or in any form. "Like they couldn't be visited by families or by inmates. "Or by their lawyers, and even if their families were providing them with food, or with medicines, or with water, they were retaining all of these goods and acting as an obstacle for families to try to get to their loved ones that are under detention.".