Hundreds of inmates at the Barinas Judicial Detention Centre (a facility in Venezuela's western Barinas state, roughly 500 kilometres from the capital Caracas) seized control of the prison on Sunday, climbing onto the roof and chanting "Stop the torture!" while burning blankets and raising banners reading "Save us" and "They are torturing us." Protesters called for the removal of the prison's director, who reportedly oversaw guards shooting at unarmed inmates and authorising other abuses including beatings, electric shocks, and cold-water dousing. The Venezuelan Prison Observatory, a humanitarian watchdog, said around 1,200 male and over 100 female detainees had joined the strike, adding that authorities had responded with gunfire and tear gas rather than addressing complaints raised for more than a week — the latest incident to highlight Venezuela's long-documented crisis of prison overcrowding, food shortages, and systematic human rights violations.