extinguishers32 was also addressed by the National Guard, recommending the "placement of fire extinguishers
in the corridors and areas of the center, to guarantee an immediate response to a fire."33
26.
Finally, the IACHR notes that at the time of the events, the INAM-San Félix prison educational
programs had been suspended due to lack of materials. 34 In the months prior to the fire, there had been
warnings of the failure to deliver the institution’s rules to the inmates, as well as the failure to comply with
their individual plans. 35 The President of the INAM "warned that the facilities of the agency, its precarious
conditions, in addition to the lack of resources do not allow the reeducation of young offenders."36 One month
after the fire, the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents pointed out at the INAM "the lack
of programs, individual plans and the non-guarantee of rights such as: education, health, development, personal
integrity, culture, recreation, and access to information, among others."37
2.
27.
Presence of Young Adults in the Prison
In accordance with Article 641 of the LOPNA:
If the adolescent turns 18 during his internment, he will be transferred to an adult institution,
and be physically separated from the adults. Exceptionally, the judge may authorize his
continued confinement in the adolescent institution, up to the age of twenty-one, taking into
account the recommendations of the institution’s technical team, as well as the type of offense
committed and the circumstances of the case and the perpetrator. 38
28.
It is clear from the case file that, in practice, the transfer of adolescents was only ordered when
the Warden of the center so requested when he or she represented a danger to the physical integrity of other
youths.39 In this sense, the judge in charge of the alleged victims indicated that she took into account the criteria
of the LOPNA, an absence of negative reports about their conduct, and their compliance with the individual
plan, concluding that "it would be unfair to order their transfer to the prison under those conditions." 40 In
addition, state authorities indicated that "the precariousness of the facilities [of the INAM-San Félix] does not
allow separation between minors and [adults]", that this situation "has become a habit" and that “it generates
a series of ongoing confrontations [among the inmates] we cannot control". 41 In general, according to the
teachers, the problem of confrontations among inmates was well known to the Center's staff and to the judicial
personnel associated with the Center. 42
29.
From the case file, the Commission observes that the young inmates of the INAM-San Félix
would have eventually been transferred to the Vista Hermosa penitentiary in Ciudad Bolívar, highlighted as
one of the most dangerous in Venezuela. From the case file there are references to the fact that in this prison it
was impossible to separate young people from the adult population, the understanding being that this prison
lacked the conditions to effectively protect the rights of young people under the terms of the LOPNA.43 There
Annex 13. Interview of Brígida Hurtado (8.7.2005). Annex 29 to the additional brief.
Annex 17. Letter of Luis López, Commander of the National Guard, to Franklin Rojas, Prosecutor (19.8.2005). Annex D to the original
petition.
34 Annex 10. Inspection Report of the INAM-San Félix (21.4.2005). Annex 07 to the additional brief; Annex 18. Report of the National Council
for the Rights of the Child and Adolescents, July 2005. Annex P to the original petition.
35 Annex 10. Inspection Report of the INAM-San Félix (21.4.2005). Annex 07 to the additional brief.
36 Annex 21. National Assembly (Press Release), “President of the Institution reported: Youths of INAM burned themselves” (10.8.2005).
Annex U2 to the original petition.
37 Annex 18. Report of the National Council for the Rights of the Child and Adolescents, July 2005. Annex P to the original petition.
38 Art. 641. Detention of Adolescents Reaching the Age of 18.
39 Annex 22. Letter of Nerio Romero a Hilda María Arteaga, Prosecutor (19.10.2004). Annex 05 to the additional brief; Annex 23. Letter of
José Gregorio Arteaga, Director of the INAM-San Félix, to Damelis Villalba, Enforcement Judge (27.2.2004). Annex 04 to the additional brief;
see also Annex 24. Statement of Yolaiza Boada (31.8.2005). Annex 14 to the additional brief.
40 Annex 24. Statement of Yolaiza Boada (31.8.2005). Annex 14 to the additional brief; see also Annex 11.
41 Annex 21. National Assembly (Press Release), “President of the Institution reported: Youths of INAM burned themselves” (10.8.2005).
Annex U2 to the original petition; see also Annex 25. Letter of José Gregorio Arteaga, Director of the INAM-San Félix, to Hilda Arteaga,
Prosecutor (17.2.2004). Annex C1 to the original petition.
42 Annex 26. Statement of Francisco Gómez (8.8.2005). Annex 31 to the additional brief.
43 Annex 11. Statement of Fanny Ricardo (5.8.2005). Annex 02 to the additional brief.
32
33