The machinery of Chavismo’s terror does not stop working. In recent hours, there have been reports of torture carried out against several of the many political prisoners, as well as a violent and bloody search in the dungeons of the Ramo Verde military prison, near Caracas, in which at least seven of the prisoners were injured. Chavista forces have also captured other opposition leaders in different parts of the country, in an effort to maintain terror ahead of the presidential inauguration on January 10th.
By Daniel Lozano | El Mundo
“Testimonies indicate that Jesús Armas was suffocated with a bag to force him to testify against members of his political group. Armas was allegedly detained and disappeared in a clandestine house of the SEBIN [political police] in the Santa Monica neighborhood of Caracas,” said the NGO “Provea”, a human rights organization after consulting relatives of the opposition leader.
Armas, a very close collaborator of María Corina Machado, has remained missing since his arrest last week. Sairam Rivas, his partner and former political prisoner, found out that he had finally been transferred to the Helicoide, the sinister prison that the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) has set up for foreigners and special political prisoners.
A former university leader, Armas has great influence in democratic circles in the country and international prestige, which led Barack Obama’s Foundation to demand his release. His arrest fell like another bucket of cold water on the mothers who fight for the freedom of the hundreds of young people imprisoned in recent months, since Armas accompanied them in the constant vigils that are held to demand freedom for all political prisoners.
Imprisoned since August in the Tocorón prison, the lawyer Kennedy Tejeda also suffered a “savage and cowardly” beating by four guards [prison officials]. I have denounced torture and cruel treatment, my son has lost weight considerably due to poor nutrition. “I demand justice!” his mother cried out in front of the Attorney General’s Office. Tejeda has been granted precautionary measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
In the last few hours, the arrest at a roadblock of social leader Carlos Azuaje, leader of Voluntad Popular, a party led by former political prisoner Leopoldo López, has also been announced. The famous “Gocho Azuaje” is well known for his activity on social networks. Another of those arrested is Ramón Bejarano, leader of Vente Venezuela (VV), Machado’s party, in the border state of Bolívar.
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