18 inmate had his place or community. The witness slept in the bathroom. In the cell there was a large bathroom with three holes that looked like septic tanks. All the cellblocks in the Detention Center of Catia were dangerous, because they were overcrowded and there were too many prisoners. Some inmates robbed other inmates. The cellblock I was in had four chambers, about four cells and each held about 80 prisoners. He prepared the food himself, because the one provided at the dining room was extremely bad. There was no place to practise sports in the prison because the yard was flooded with refuse, it was revolting. There was an infirmary, even though the doctor was a prisoner. There were no periodical health controls, nor productive activities to perform, there were no workshops, nothing. There was a library but it was closed. There has always been corruption in the prison, the police deprived the prisoners of their money for any reason whatsoever. They had to pay the police for a change of venue or to be taken to the infirmary. On November 27, 1992, “there were bullets and teargas bombs.” They opened the doors for the inmates to go out, but they did not open the front doors so, suddenly many went out by jumping over the walls, and then the “slaughter” started. It happened when they said that the inmates were free, but that was a trick, and they made a massacre. The inmates were under the custody of the Metropolitan Police, that took part by shooting from the sentry boxes. The National Guard arrived “when the gun fight had ceased the 27 at dawn.” Everything had already calmed down, we were picking the corpses and putting them in the yard. The National Guard arrived and started beating and moving people to other places. All the inmates remained naked in the yard, ducking, in the middle of contaminated water and worms. They remained the whole morning squatting in the yard, from 4 in the morning to 12 pm. h) Statement of Edgar José López-Albujas, journalist According to the witness, every time the press has been able to enter the prisons and report what is going on inside, public opinion has reacted with abhorrence to the descriptions of deficiencies regarding infrastructure and personnel. About the former, there is an evident deterioration of buildings, which in most cases hold twice or three times their capacity. This overcrowding has led to use as cells spaces which had been originally conceived for work, study or leisure activities, therefore contributing to increase idleness. Contaminated waters and stench are habitual features and the most visible signs of extreme unhealthiness in all the prisons in Venezuela. Services such as medical attention and nutrition are in precarious state or they do not even exist. In 1993 the witness went with a criminal judge to inspect Detention Center of Catia. Through a report the witness became aware and displayed before public opinion issues such as proliferation of drugs, the filth existing in all places, the unusual dimension of the confinement cells, just one square meter where, at the time of his visit, there were two prisoners; the lack of an infirmary and of basic medicines, and the insufficiency and incompetence of guards as well. With regard to the events taking place on November 27, 1992 at dawn, he heard explosions coming from inside the prison. The witness narrates that there were