HomeNewsBriefVenezuela Prison Opens Nightclub in Violence Reduction Strategy
BRIEF

Venezuela Prison Opens Nightclub in Violence Reduction Strategy

NARCOCULTURE / 1 APR 2013 BY MICHAEL TATONE EN

A Venezuelan prison marked the opening of a nightclub for inmates with an inauguration party complete with strippers and DJs, as part of an unconventional scheme to reduce prison violence.

Prisoners at the San Antonio prison on the Venezuelan island of Margarita used smart phones to coordinate the event, as well as to invite family members and friends through social networks, reported El Universal.

The new nightclub, called "El Yate Club" (the Yacht Club), has a capacity of 600 people, air conditioning and professional sound equipment, boasted the invitation sent by prisoners.

Prison Minister Iris Varela defended the recreational activities, saying they help to reduce prison violence.

InSight Crime Analysis

San Antonio prison is reportedly run by a drug trafficker called Teofilo Rodriguez, alias "El Conejo" and has already earned a reputation for its surreal atmosphere of heavily armed hedonism, with facilities including a palm-fringed swimming pool and a cock-fighting arena.

It is common for Venezuela prisons to be run by gang leaders like Rodriguez, known as "pranes," who manage the prisons' black market economies -- particularly drug distribution -- which are worth millions of dollars a year.

The position of prison minister was established in 2011 to address overcrowding and to reduce violence. Varela promised to establish sports and cultural programs for inmates, among other measures.

However, Venezuela still has one of the most violent prison systems in the region. Since Varela's appointment, over 500 inmates have died and up to 2,000 have been wounded.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 7 JUL 2022

Ahmet Yilmaz* shouldn’t be in a dangerous profession. He’s not a cop or a criminal. Ahmet is a banana importer…

COLOMBIA / 22 AUG 2023

Hyperinflation is forcing Venezuelans to buy cheaper foodstuffs smuggled in from Colombia, putting the jobs of Venezuelan producers at risk.

ELITES AND CRIME / 4 OCT 2022

A high-profile prisoner swap raises hopes of improving US-Venezuela relations and abilities to tackle organized crime.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…