Venezuela prison deaths rise to 28 under regime custody April‑June 2026

The Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons (OVP) reported that the number of people who died while in state custody rose to 28 between April and June 2026. The latest death was that of José Gregorio Mendoza Guzmán, who died of severe hypoxia while detained at the Centro Penitenciario de la Región Andina.

Other recent fatalities include Yonny José Bastidas Briceño, who died of acute peritonitis at the Centro Penitenciario de Occidente I «Cipriano Castro» in Táchira, as well as Yosevet de Jesús Lozada, Alberto Rafael Solarte Cabrera and Fabiana Desireé Páez Fernández in separate facilities. OVP notes that prisons are overcrowded—exceeding 165% capacity—and that inadequate medical care was identified as the cause of 95% of deaths in 2025. The organization called on authorities to guarantee detainees' physical integrity, comply with legal obligations and provide timely health services.