According to the NGO Foro Penal, former Venezuelan governor Alfredo Díaz died after more than a year of absolute isolation in El Helicoide, SEBIN headquarters in Caracas. Arrested in 2024 on charges of "incitement to hate" and "terrorism" that human rights organizations describe as fabricated, Díaz had been asking for medical attention for months without receiving it, according to opposition testimonies.
First modification: 06/12/2025 - 19:50
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In the bowels of El Helicoide, which houses facilities of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), the Venezuelan political police under the government of Nicolás Maduro, the former governor of Nueva Esparta, Alfredo Javier Díaz Figueroa, died, according to the Foro Penal, a Venezuelan non-governmental organization dedicated to the defense of human rights, especially in cases of arbitrary detentions and political prisoners.
The organization affirms that his death was due to a sudden heart attack after more than a year of absolute isolation in that detention center.
Alfredo Díaz, arrested in November 2024 on charges of "incitement to hate" and "terrorism", described by the Penal Forum as charges fabricated to criminalize dissidence, spent more than 365 days incommunicado, without family visits or contact with lawyers.
He was 55 years old. He had been a councilor, mayor of Mariño and governor of Nueva Esparta for Democratic Action. He was an "innocent social fighter," according to his colleagues in the Democratic Action party.
His arrest was added to the post-election wave of July 28, 2024, with more than 2,000 arrests, according to Amnesty International and human rights organizations.
In El Helicoide, according to opposition leader Leopoldo López, Alfredo Díaz “had been requesting medical attention for months and they denied it,” which would have worsened his health until the fatal heart attack on December 5.
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The activist and former Venezuelan ambassador to Argentina, Elisa Trotta, spoke about the news: "Another innocent person slowly murdered by this narcotyranny. There are now more than 10 political prisoners who have died in captivity since June 28."
Foro Penal and the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners demand an independent investigation: "The State is responsible for action or omission."
His wife demands public explanations, in a context in which, according to human rights organizations, at least 20 political prisoners have died in custody since 2015, and at least nine of them were detained after the 2024 presidential elections.
El Helicoide is described by the UN as a "center of systematic torture", whose methods documented by the international organization include electric shocks, asphyxiation with plastic bags ("white torture" to avoid visible marks), beatings to the head with shotguns, simulated drowning and sexual abuse.
With EFE and local media
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