A relative of a prisoner cries in front of a police station in Valencia (AFP)
Anguished relatives of some 68 people killed in a riot and fire in the cells of a Venezuelan police station demanded explanations on Thursday while rights groups and opposition politicians blamed leftist President Nicolas Maduro for overcrowding in the country's notoriously violent jails.
Deadly riots are common in Venezuela's lawless prisons, where inmates often openly wield machine guns and use drugs. But the death toll in the decrepit city of Valencia, once a thriving industrial hub, in Wednesday's riot was particularly shocking.
In Geneva, the United Nations human rights office called on authorities to carry out a speedy investigation and to provide reparations to victims' families.
"We urge the Venezuelan authorities to carry out a prompt, thorough and effective investigation to establish the cause of these deaths, provide reparations to the victims' families, and, where applicable, identify and bring those responsible to justice," the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement voicing concern at prison conditions.
Opposition politicians in Venezuela said the disaster was another sign of Maduro's incompetent rule in a country that is deep in economic crisis and is plagued with food shortages, hyperinflation, and rampant crime.
Although prison violence has been a problem in Venezuela for decades, opposition lawmakers say it has worsened under Maduro and his predecessor the late Hugo Chavez.
"The only culprit is the government, which keeps a huge quantity of prisoners crammed together in police office cells for a long time in inhumane conditions," said opposition lawmaker Yajaira Forero.
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