The Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) denounced on Monday the death of a prisoner, for health problems, in a chain that the non-governmental organization (NGO) considered suffering from overcrowding and lack of basic services.
© ShutterStock
15/09/2026
by
Lusa
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.
“[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%”, explains in a statement.
According to the OVP to this overcrowding, “food problems, difficulties in accessing drinking water and deficiencies in medical services are added, a combination that particularly exacerbates the situation of those who have health problems and need timely care”.
“ We insist that being deprived of freedom does not mean losing the right to health or life. That is why the authorities have an obligation to ensure medical care, adequate food, drinking water and conditions worthy of detention”, he stresses.
In the statement the OVP questions why the Ombudsman’s office “does not bring an action to protect the right to life of persons deprived of liberty”.
“The Ombudsman has the constitutional power to act and we ask him to exercise it and adopt urgent measures to protect the life and integrity of persons deprived of liberty throughout the national territory,” he concludes.
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.