Venezuela opens the door of . After years, in some cases many, in prison for their opinions contrary to the Chavista regime, this Thursday the new government of Delcy Rodríguez announced the release of a large group of “people”, without detailing the category of ‘political prisoners’.
Jorge Gutiérrez, president of the National Assembly and brother of the president in charge of the country, has done so. The grace measure includes Venezuelan and foreign prisonersamong them at least five Spaniards and seeks to “consolidate peace and peaceful coexistence.”
The announcement of number two in fact of the State after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the US seeks to respond to the demand for “steps” for freedom. And it also seeks to partially close a wound that hundreds of families continue to suffer.
The NGO Penal Forum It has been working in defense of human rights in Venezuela since 2002 and is the main entity in the fight for political prisoners. imprisoned for political reasonsthe mandate of Nicolás Maduro is still in force.
The work, titled Report on political repression in Venezuela, details that 60 of these detainees were in a situation of “forced disappearance” as of November 30. Of the very large group, what also stands out is the existence of 4 adolescents and 117 women. 174 are military or police officialswhile the remaining 713 were civilians, according to Foro Penal data obtained from official records, documents and testimonies of family members and victims.
The aforementioned NGO adds in its November work that at that time There were 85 foreigners detained as political prisonerswhich includes between 14 and 20 spanish. Of them, at least five have been released this Thursday, confirmed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. It’s about the citizens José María Basoa, Andrés Martínez Adasme, Miguel Moreno Dapena, Ernesto Gorbe Cardona and the Spanish-Venezuelan Rocío San Miguel.
The documents published by Foro Penal reveal up to 18,503 “political arrests” since 2014, at the dawn of the Government of Nicolás Madurowho came to power a year earlier due to the death of Hugo Chávez.
Foro Penal stressed that many of these arrests were carried out after the July 2024 electionsin which, in the face of the complaints and official minutes presented by the opposition led by Edmundo González, whose victory has been recognized by dozens of countries and international institutions.
El Helicoide, the regime’s torture camp
The figure of the political prisoner in Venezuela links directly to the detention center known as El Helicoidea facility converted into a torture camp for opponents of the regime and in the heart of Caracas.
The Helicoide is another of Donald Trump’s objectives, who has been quick to promise its closure, after more than four decades as the headquarters of the Intelligence Services of the Bolivarian Republic, which resignified an infrastructure designed in the 50s with the purpose of being a shopping center deluxe.
However, since the State converted it into a detention center, there have been complaints and testimonies of human rights violations in the treatment of detainees. Among the humiliations most reported by the prisoners are: electrocutionslos systematized scams or the obligations on the part of the authorities to dipping face in containers filled with feces.
What can happen now with political prisoners
The fall of Nicolás Maduro after his capture by the US was celebrated as a victory in the community opposed to Chavismo, inside and outside the country.
Between commercial and economic demands, the White House announced that would demand the release of political prisoners to the new president in charge, among an increase in international voices calling for an amnesty for all those detained for ideological reasons.
The advertisement launched by Jorge Rodríguez does not include references to a general amnesty for political prisoners and references to a ‘gesture’ of opening towards the US and the rest of the world.
