At least 29 inmates killed in clashes at Venezuela jail
Caracas: At least 29 prisoners were killed and 19 police wounded in clashes at a jail in western Venezuela Friday, authorities said.
The ncident at the police station jail in the town of Acarigua, in Portuguesa state, occurred when police special forces (FAES) tried to stop a "massive prison break" which resulted in the deaths of 29 inmates, according to Portuguesa public security secretary Oscar Valero.
The prisoners received the officers with "a hail of gunfire" while detonating three grenades, which injured 19 police, Valero told reporters.
The Una Ventana a la Libertad NGO, which defends prisoner rights, gave a preliminary toll of 25 dead.
NGO director Carlos Nieto said the clashes broke out when the FAES attempted to rescue visitors who had been taken hostage Thursday by the "pran" -- the leader of the inmates -- at the jail.
"This morning (authorities) sent the FAES and there was a clash. The detainees had weapons, they shot at the police. Apparently they also detonated two grenades," Nieto told AFP.
The inmates' leader, Wilfredo Ramos, was one of those killed, according to an internal police report.
The report, quoted by the NGO, said several officers were wounded by "shrapnel and explosives." The prisons ministry did not comment on the incident, saying police station jails are not under its control.
A video shared on social media shows an inmate -- believed to be Ramos -- with his face partly covered while brandishing a pistol and what appears to be grenades, and threatening two women.
"It's our lives (on the line) and those of the visitors here," he says, as a woman pleads for help, while warning the police to stay out because "I'm prepared to die." Nieto said the inmates were demanding "food and to be transferred to prisons," and had denounced police "abuses." No information was given about the fate of the hostages.
Violence is a problem in such detention facilities, where inmates are supposed to be held for a maximum of 48 hours, Una Ventana a la Libertad said.
There are around 500 of them in the country, holding 55,000 people even though their total capacity is just 8,000, the NGO added. The Acarigua jail has capacity for 60 inmates but was holding 500, according to the police report.
These provisional detention centers "are not suitable to hold inmates for more than 48 hours," said Nieto.
He said the prison system as a whole is "chaotic" and blamed the prisons ministry for "not fulfilling its functions." Venezuela has one of the worst records for prison violence in the region.
In March 2018, 68 inmates died in a fire at a police jail in the northern city of Valencia. And in August 2017, a riot at a facility in the southern Amazonas state left 37 prisoners dead.
More than 400 people are believed to have been killed in Venezuelan jails since 2011, while human rights organizations also say they face a lack of food and medicines -- like much of the country -- while the facilities are beset by corruption.
"For how long are Venezuelan prisoners in the state's hands going to die?" said Humberto Prado, director of the Venezuelan Prisoners Observatory NGO, who branded Friday's events a "massacre.
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US pauses visa processing for individuals from 75 countries
New York/Washington (PTI): The Trump administration on Wednesday announced pausing immigrant visa processing for individuals from 75 countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Russia, as part of increasing crackdown on foreigners likely to rely on public benefits in the US.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department said in a post on X.
“The Trump administration will PAUSE immigrant visa processing from 75 countries until the US can ensure that incoming immigrants will not become a public charge or extract wealth from American taxpayers. AMERICA FIRST,” the White House said in a post on X.
“The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people. The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival. We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused," the State Department said.
"The Trump Administration will always put America First," the State Department added.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement, "The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people."
A report in the Fox News said that the pause will begin from January 21.
The State Department memo, seen first by Fox News Digital, directs “consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures”.
The list of countries include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The Fox News report added that in November 2025, a State Department cable sent to missions around the globe instructed consular officers to “enforce sweeping new screening rules under the so-called "public charge" provision of immigration law.
The guidance had instructed US consular officers across the world to deem those individuals seeking to enter and live in the US ineligible if they have certain medical conditions, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, saying these people could end up relying on public benefits.
The foreigners applying for visas to live in the US “might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions”. “You must consider an applicant’s health…Certain medical conditions – including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, and mental health conditions – can require hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of care,” the cable had said.
The cable also advised visa officers to consider conditions like obesity in making their decisions, noting that the condition can cause asthma, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.
The guidance directed "visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the US for several new reasons, including age or the likelihood they might rely on public benefits.
The guidance says that such people could become a “public charge” — "a potential drain on US resources — because of their health issues or age”.
The report added that older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had any past use of government cash assistance or institutionalisation.
