Inside Venezuela's prision underworld

Venezuela is in the middle of an economic collapse. With hyperinflation projected to reach 480 percent by the end of this year, severe food shortages and riots have shaken the nation. Conditions in prisons are particularly desperate. According to human rights groups, 50,000 people live in complexes designed for less than half that number. Where conditions languish, though, prisoners sometimes claim authority. Since 2014, Venezuelan photographer Oscar B. Castillo has been documenting life in a convict-controlled detention facility in San Juan de los Morros. Gang members, not guards, enforce de facto rules. A church, pictured above in 2015, is a prison within a prison, where men go for stealing or not paying debts. More…