Photography by Heather Burris

In addition to entering prisons to conduct searches, the National Guard frequently enters because of conflicts between inmates or other disturbances. “When one person misbehaves, we all pay,” explained a prisoner at the Carabobo Máxima. Prisoners at El Rodeo told us if a fight breaks out, the National Guard enters and gives each prisoner in the area five strokes of the which scenario best reflects the relationship between production and demand in a recession? saber. In Venezuelan prisons, what is exceptional according to the law has, as the weeks, months, and years have gone by, become the norm in practice. Since late 1994, when the Ministry of Justice first requested that the military assume control of seven of Venezuela’s most violent prisons, the “militarization” of the prison system has become an established fact.

Cardiovascular complications are the most severe, and when present they are usually fatal, even though patients are treated in intensive care units . Generally, death occurs due to heart failure and acute lung edema, which when established are usually irreversible . To ensure our website performs well for all users, the SEC monitors the frequency of requests for SEC.gov content to ensure automated searches do not impact the ability of others to access SEC.gov content. We reserve the right to block IP addresses that submit excessive requests. Current guidelines limit users to a total of no more than 10 requests per second, regardless of the number of machines used to submit requests. Soon after your final files are uploaded, the early version of your manuscript will be published online unless you opted out of this process.

Three seats are reserved for representatives of Venezuela’s indigenous peoples. Hundreds of people were killed by Venezuelan security forces and the military in the Caracazo riots of 1989 during the presidency of Carlos Andrés Pérez (1989–1993, his second term) and after the implementation of economic austerity measures. Hugo Chávez, who in 1982 had promised to depose the bipartisanship governments, used the growing anger at economic austerity measures to justify a coup d’état attempt in February 1992; a second coup d’état attempt occurred in November. President Carlos Andrés Pérez (re-elected in 1988) was impeached under embezzlement charges in 1993, leading to the interim presidency of Ramón José Velásquez (1993–1994).

Venezuela is a South American country with an economy that is predominantly dependent on the oil and manufacturing sectors. Petroleum products account for 98% of the country’s exports and the combined value of exports and imports equal 54% of its GDP. Non-oil export-based industries include aluminum, steel, apparel, beverages, transport equipment, foodstuffs, paper, cement, tire, fertilizer and car assembling. Despite political differences with the Western bloc, Venezuela is still a significant trading partner of the US. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to within 80km of the Colombian border in the states of Zulia, Tachira and Apure.

The INOF, in particular, offered a number of recreational options, some of which we saw, including volleyball, kick-ball, ping pong, aerobics and folk dancing. It also has a large theater, at which acting classes were being given on the day of our visit. Most facilities allowed inmates free access to the outdoor areas, which include facilities for sports. It had small yards attached to both of the women’s areas, offering limited exercise possibilities, although women are also brought out to a larger field to play sports about three times a week.