A/HRC/44/20 adequate facilities for women detainees and the use of punishment cells with inadequate hygienic conditions. OHCHR received information of excessive use of force during inspections conducted by the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence. The military jurisdiction reported that in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, 72 alternative measures to deprivation of liberty were granted to detainees in military penitentiaries who had been convicted of minor offences. 64. OHCHR received numerous allegations of inadequate conditions of detention at the headquarters of the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence and the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service; it had no access to either facility. The facilities are not official detention centres and lack minimum requirements, including sufficient space to guarantee the rights of detainees. The facilities of the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence, which were originally built as offices, have been remodelled to increase detention capacity in the basement. 65. In the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence premises in Boleíta, Caracas, OHCHR documented that most individuals were held in overcrowded rooms lacking adequate sanitary facilities. Lights were reportedly left on 24 hours a day and air conditioning was used excessively to create uncomfortable conditions. Detainees could not leave their cells during the day, and opportunities to spend time in open spaces were seriously restricted. 66. OHCHR documented that, during the initial period of detention at the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence in Boleíta, as well as the 45-day period of preliminary investigation, some detainees were held for extended periods of time in complete isolation in small cells without any ventilation, in the dark and handcuffed most of the time. 67. Basic necessities such as water, food and medication were mostly provided by female family members through the authorities, with concerns as to whether they were effectively delivered to detainees. Detainees rarely received adequate medical treatment and in a number of cases when a doctor recommended medical assistance, officials of the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence did not follow up. Female detainees reported being held in overcrowded cells and not having regular access to menstrual hygiene products. Following the suspension of visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, OHCHR documented further challenges faced by family members in facilitating access to food and medicines and to communicating with detainees. 68. OHCHR has documented that a common method of punishment used against detainees by authorities of the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence was the shortening or cancelling of weekly visits by relatives without notice. In some cases, visits were cancelled for months at a time. The schedule for visits was usually set arbitrarily. Visits with relatives and attorneys were monitored by security agents and cameras. 69. OHCHR observed that the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence remained de facto in control of detainees they arrested, even after their transfer to military penitentiary centres. The Directorate General usually continued to make decisions affecting transfers and searches of these detainees without any scrutiny or oversight mechanism. V. Cooperation and technical assistance 70. Following the first-ever official visit by a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which took place from 19 to 21 June 2019, the Government agreed to a continuing presence of two human rights officers in the country to provide technical assistance. On 20 September 2019, the High Commissioner and the Minister of Foreign Affairs signed a letter of understanding setting out the parameters of cooperation for a renewable period of one year. 71. In October 2019, OHCHR and the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela agreed on a workplan to develop the nine areas of technical cooperation highlighted in the letter of understanding. On 17 October 2019, the Government established an inter-institutional coordination committee to follow up on the implementation of the 12