Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Nearly 300 political prisoners held at El Rodeo I prison on the outskirts of Caracas have launched a hunger strike in demanding their release, relatives said. Families of the detainees reported the protest after authorities excluded them from a recently enacted amnesty law in Venezuela.
"We have had communications with human rights officials at the U.S. Embassy. They are aware that the Venezuelan regime continues mocking victims," activist Andreína Baduel said Monday during a news conference organized by the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners.
Baduel said 213 people, including Venezuelan nationals and foreigners, are on hunger strike, while 81 others have begun a combined hunger and thirst strike, according to digital outlet Efecto Cocuyo.
Foreign detainees participating in the protest include 21 Colombian nationals and Argentine gendarme Nahuel Gallo, who has complained about limited access to medical care and consular assistance.
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