More than six months after the presidential elections in Venezuela, hundreds of former political prisoners arbitrarily arrested face the sequelae of repression. For many, the prison did not end with its release: Torture, surveillance and fear remain part of their day to day.
After the July 28 elections, in which the electoral authorities declared the victory of Nicolás Maduro without disseminating details of the scrutiny, protests broke out in cities of the country. The government’s response was brutal: arrested a more than 2,200 people, Many of them without having participated in violent events.
Security agents took them from their homes and workplaces and took them to jail, where they suffered subhuman conditions, according to complaints collected by The Associated Press. Beatings, food deprivation and overcrowding end were part of the punishment.
Practically all They developed stomach infections and lost weight, The news agency pointed out.
Torture inside and out of prison
Although thousands were released in recent months, many are still trapped in a cycle of fear and precariousness. Torture does not end with release.
“What is reality? My fundamental rights violated me; I continue at the mercy of the Government ”, A former political prisoner said to the AP.
The releases suffer Insomnia, anxiety attacks and extreme distrust. They avoid leaving home and trembling when they see a police officer. Many have unusual heart problems for their age.
To this is added the precarious economic situation.
During his arrest, Maduro’s regime confiscated their identity documents, which prevents them from getting formal jobs. In addition, their families were indebted after spending hundreds of dollars on medicines, food and hygiene products that the prison system did not provide.
“This intimidation that they are doing to us, this psychological damage that they are doing to us, It is the worst thing they can do to a town with eagerness for freedom ”, The mother of a former one denounced. “That is terrorism.”
“Children and grandchildren of the people who voted for Chávez”
Unlike other manifestations, This time the streets were filled with young people from popular neighborhoods, Many of them children and grandchildren of those who once voted for Hugo Chávez.
“They were the children and grandchildren of the people who voted for Hugo Chávez,” said Oscar Murillo, director of the NGO Prova, to the AP agency. “They did not identify with the opposition. They came out in rejection of poor management of electoral results. ”
The authorities reacted with a strategy: unjustified arrests, brutal repression and prolonged isolation that generates terror among the population. The releases have also received a clear message: Do not challenge the regime again.
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