2 overcrowding,’ the abysmal conditions of the physical infrastructure, health care services and food, and also the lack of personnel who are ‘duly qualified to avoid the continuous outbreaks of violence,’” and (f) On February 2, 2011, there was a riot in the prison, involving firearms, that left five inmates dead and one wounded. 3. The Commission’s legal arguments to justify its request for provisional measures, in which it indicated that: (a) The acts of violence that have occurred inside the prison since the end of 2010 have resulted in the death of 10 people and left approximately 40 individuals injured in less than four months. This proves the existence of a situation of extreme gravity and urgency, and the need to avoid irreparable harm to those deprived of their liberty and others present in the Vista Hermosa Prison, who have been suffering serious acts against their life and physical integrity; (b) From the information available, it appears that the State of Venezuela has not adopted effective measures to protect the life and physical integrity of the potential beneficiaries or to halt the trafficking of weapons inside the prison, which demonstrates a lack of effective control by the prison authorities; (c) In similar situations of prison violence in Venezuela, this Court has seen fit to grant and maintain measures in favor of the beneficiaries in an effort to eliminate acts of violence and to prevent loss of life and harm to the physical integrity of all persons subject to State control, and (d) The violent situation inside the Vista Hermosa Prison has become extreme, making it necessary for the Court to intervene through the mechanism of provisional measures. 4. The Inter-American Commission’s request that the Court, based on Article 63(2) of the American Convention and Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure, order the State to: (a) Implement provisional measures to protect the life and right to physical integrity of the persons deprived of their liberty and all others who may be present in the detention center; (b) Make every possible effort to achieve effective control of the detention center in strict observance of the human rights of the inmates; eliminate the extreme overcrowding that leads to acts of violence; provide the prison with sufficient trained guards equipped with the means required to perform their functions adequately, and to identify and address the root causes that permit the trafficking of weapons within the prison; (c) Ensure that the planning and execution of the measures is carried out with the participation of the representatives of the beneficiaries and that the State report periodically on any progress in their implementation. 5. The Secretariat’s note of March 25, 2011, whereby, on the instructions of the President of the Court and based on Article 27(5) of the Rules of Procedure, it asked the State to submit its observations on the request for provisional measures, as well as any other documentation it deemed relevant by April 1, 2011, at the latest.

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