ORDER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF MAY 15, 2011 PROVISIONAL MEASURES WITH REGARD TO VENEZUELA MATTER OF THE CIUDAD BOLÍVAR JUDICIAL DETENTION CENTER “VISTA HERMOSA PRISON” HAVING SEEN: 1. The brief of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) of March 25, 2011 and attachments, whereby it submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the InterAmerican Court” or “the Court”) a request for provisional measures pursuant to Article 63(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention” or “the Convention”) and Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court (hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”) for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (hereinafter “the State” or “Venezuela”) to protect the life and right to physical integrity of those deprived of liberty and all others in the Ciudad Bolívar Judicial Detention Center, also known as the Vista Hermosa Prison (hereinafter “Ciudad Bolívar Judicial Detention Center” or “Vista Hermosa Prison”). 2. The alleged facts upon which the Commission’s request for provisional measures is based, namely: (a) The Vista Hermosa Prison is located in the Vista Hermosa sector of Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar State, and can receive up to 310 detainees. According to information provided by the Commission, the current population is approximately 930 inmates; (b) The situation in the Vista Hermosa Prison is characterized by “the permanent struggle between internal gangs who compete for control of the prison through the use and control of weapons,” in addition to “critical overcrowding”; (c) Over the past three years, the number of violent events in the Vista Hermosa Prison has increased: in 2009 alone, 17 people died, 8 of whom from gunshot wounds during a violent confrontation in August 2009; (d) On October 31, 2010, there was a riot in the prison, “as the result of a confrontation between the inmates involving firearms and sharp instruments,” which left five inmates dead and 20 injured. Furthermore, since September 2010, inmates and their next of kin have engaged in numerous protests and hunger strikes; (e) Among the conditions responsible for the inmates’ deaths and an environment of extreme violence inside the prison, the Commission referred to “the lack of effective control of the prison,” and also “the trafficking of weapons, which the State has been unable to control sustainably and effectively” together with the “‘critical