The Venezuelan government must take "concrete steps" to protect the lives of inmates, said the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), after it condemned the death of 19 inmates last Sunday in the Venezuelan prison of El Rodeo I, east Caracas.

"The IACHR urges the Venezuelan government to take immediate steps in connection with the serious risk situation faced by people deprived of their freedom," said the statement, as reported by AFP.

The IACHR, which is one of two Organization of American States (OAS) bodies in the Inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights, said that in February 2008 it issued precautionary measures urging the Venezuelan government to protect the lives of inmates at El Rodeo I, a prison located in Guatire, in the outskirts of Caracas.

The IACHR "has been monitoring the worrying situation facing people deprived of freedom in Venezuela through all available mechanisms."

The permanent body of the Organization of American States (OAS) said that prison overcrowding must be addressed, and urged Venezuela to protect the lives and physical integrity of inmates.