Prisoners in Venezuela’s western Barinas prison staged a protest on the roof of the detention center ​on Sunday, piling flaming mattresses and calling for ‌the removal of the prison’s director, who they said had overseen guards as they shot unarmed prisoners.

“We want justice. They are shooting ​us, the guards and the wardens,” a prisoner said ​in a video shared by the Venezuelan Prison ⁠Observatory, a local NGO, on X, in which a ​man is seen with a bullet wound in his ​chest.

Inmates said they were peacefully protesting when prison staff opened fire and left some wounded.

Venezuelan authorities did not immediately respond to requests ​for comment.

Prisoners called for the removal of the recently appointed ​prison director, Elvis Macuare Guerrero, in videos shared by the observatory.

They ‌said ⁠their clothes had been taken away, they had been banned from receiving visits and pressured to sell drugs.

Inmates’ family members clashed outside with National Guard officers, armed with ​riot shields, as ​they unsuccessfully ⁠attempted to stop them from entering.

They told the NGO they heard screams and explosions ​minutes after they entered.

The NGO said it ​was documenting ⁠the events and reporting them to human rights watchdogs.

Venezuelan prisons face international scrutiny as the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez passed a ⁠law ​to release hundreds of people considered political ​prisoners.

In January, the US attacked Caracas and captured then-President Nicolas Maduro.