Organization calls for investigation into the death of another inmate in Venezuela

“ O OVP calls for a transparent investigation into the death of Eliezer Navas, to ascertain the circumstances surrounding his death and the conditions under which he was detained (...) In Venezuela, the death penalty is prohibited, but behind bars the conditions of detention continue to condemn to death, under the eyes of the institutions that should guarantee life ", says the organization, in a statement released on the X network.

On the same social network, the OVP explains that “Eliezer Navas died of mechanical asphyxiation while being held at the Training Centre ‘Hombre Nuevo’ Juan López, located in Tocuyito, in the state of Carabobo, formerly called ‘New El Liberator Man Training Center’”.

The term mechanical asphyxiation designates the physical and violent impediment of air passage to the lungs, caused by an external cause, and may refer to a situation of strangulation or hanging. The organization did not specify the details of the prisoner's death.

“His death highlights a reality that, from the OVP, we have repeatedly denounced: the conditions of detention not only harm the physical health of inmates, but can also seriously affect their mental health and lead them to extreme situations of despair,” he says.

The OVP also stresses that “starvation, deficiencies in health care, diseases, difficulties in adequately accessing water, unhealthy conditions and complaints of corruption are part of the reality” that has been documented in that prison establishment.

“A few years ago, even family members reported that prisoners protested against food conditions and that some patients did not receive the essential medical care,” he said.

On the other hand, the OVP questions what happens to the mental health of a person submitted, for months or years, to the conditions of the Venezuelan chains.

“ A death from mechanical asphyxiation in custody obliges him to investigate not only how Eliezer Navas died, but also what he was going through before his death, what his physical and mental health status was and if there were warning signs that were not met ", says.

The OVP also underlines that “in this context the change in prison’s name becomes impossible to ignore,” one made that included the name of Juan López, “who was subdirector of the prison Phoenix Lara and who, in 2022, was arrested, accused of alleged mistreatment and misuse of a firearm against four women deprived of freedom.”.

“ Later, he was at the head of the center itself, in Tocuyito, where public complaints also arose about alleged mistreatment against detainees (...) They can change the names of prisons, but the problems will remain the same until they change what happens inside their walls,” he explains.

On Monday, the Venezuelan Prison Observatory denounced the death of another prisoner, due to health problems, in a chain that the non-governmental organization considered suffering from overcrowding and lack of basic services.

The death of Edward Artuto Muñoz took place in the prison of the Coro Penitentiary Community in the state of Falcon, 530 kilometers west of Caracas, which faces a critical situation of overcrowding, deficiencies in basic services and lack of medical care, indicated.

“[Muñoz] died due to health problems while being held (...) in a prison where overcrowding reaches critical levels, since more than 1,700 people are trapped in a space designed for only 800. This means that it works at more than 212% of its installed capacity, with an overcrowding level exceeding 112%”, it has.

According to the Venezuelan Prison Observatory, between April and July 2026, 49 prisoners died in Venezuelan prisons and cells, mostly due to health problems related to lack of medical care.