Prison overcrowding is a common problem across the globe. In February Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] called for the reduction of overcrowding [JURIST report] to improve poor prison conditions in Latin America following a prison fire in Honduras. In August Venezuelan Minister for Prisons Iris Varela announced that she plans to release up to 40 percent [JURIST report] of the country's prisoners in an effort to reduce prison overcrowding. The US also has prison overcrowding concerns, particularly in California. Last year, the US Supreme Court upheld [opinion, PDF] an order requiring California to release up to 46,000 prisoners [JURIST report] to remedy the state's overcrowded prisons. California submitted a plan to comply with the court's order, but the state's Legislative Analyst's Office has concluded that California is unlikely to meet [JURIST reports] the Supreme Court's two-year deadline.