Venezuela’s opposition demands probe of prison violence; pro-Chavez lawmakers target media

CARACAS, Venezuela – Opposition lawmakers called for a congressional investigation into allegedly corrupt guards and the trafficking of guns and drugs inside Venezuela’s prisons Wednesday as a bloody clash between National Guard troops and inmates stretched into a sixth day.

Officials in President Hugo Chavez’s administration have conceded that corruption is a major problem among prison guards who take bribes in exchange for contraband, but the pro-Chavez lawmakers who hold a majority in the National Assembly have not launched a congressional investigation.

Instead, they pledged Wednesday to launch an investigation into what they say is the private news media’s slanted coverage of the violence at the adjacent Rodeo I and Rodeo II prisons in the city of Guatire, just outside the capital of Caracas.

“The media tries to spread disinformation as a means of creating confusion,” said Dario Vivas, a ruling-party lawmaker.

Government opponents say that charge is just a ruse to distract the population from the problems inside the country’s prisons.

“The trafficking of firearms, drugs and ammunition inside Venezuelan prisons must be investigated,” opposition lawmaker William Ojeda told a news conference.

A 5,000-strong security force has engaged in gunbattles with inmates at the two prisons since the military launched a weapons search Friday. One inmate and two National Guard troops have been killed, and at least 20 troops have been wounded, officials have said.

Inmates claim several fellow prisoners have also suffered injuries and urgently require medical treatment.

Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said officials made progress toward ending the conflict on Wednesday after making contact with leaders of the rebellious prisoners.

“We established direct communication with the spokesmen for the first time today,” he said.

El Aissami told state television that “hostilities ceased” at Rodeo II and he expressed hope for a peaceful end to the conflict on Thursday.

Venezuela’s 30 prisons were built to house 12,500 inmates, but hold about 49,000, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a group that monitors prison conditions. Last year, 476 people died and 967 were injured in prison violence, according to figures compiled by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.