Opposition figures and ordinary people disappear, re-education camps are built as Maduro’s regime tries to remain in power in Venezuela
Families of the detained protesters hold a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela on the 8th of August. The sign says in Spanish: “Free all political prisoners.” PHOTO: MATIAS DELACROIX, AP
Flor Salazar Martinez
Published 13.08.2024 2:39
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, appeared on national TV on August 5. His words were directed to Venezuelan opposition and protesters.
“Tun, tun tun, no seas llorón, vas pa’ Tocorón”, “Knock, knock, knock don’t be a cry-baby, you will be sent to Tocorón”, the president said, referring to one of the countries notorious prisons.
DGCIM, the Venezuelan military counterintelligence service, continued with a similar tone. It published a series of posts on its official Instagram account with the same song playing in the background:
“They will hear you. If you do something wrong, they will hear and come. They will chase you, so hide well because your name is on the list. Someone is watching you, someone is watching you.”
The Venezuelan president has given the law enforcement organizations the authority to carry an investigation of anyone they consider even slightly suspicious. They may stop anyone in the streets, check their electronic devices and social media profiles. They are also entitled to knock on people’s doors, tear them down if necessary, and take the people out of their homes.
Officially, the measures are directed against so-called “hate crime”. For the government, that can mean things like posting something against president Maduro on social media or sending a Whatsapp message showing discontent about the country’s current situation.
Even a neighbour naming someone a terrorist can result in a violent visit from the authorities. No warrants, judicial papers or any other form of legal procedures are needed.
The government sympathisers have given the operation a chilling nickname: “Operación tun, tun” or “Operation knock, knock”.
Taken away and not seen or heard of since
First notable opposition figure detained in the operation was Freddy Superlano, the former deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela. He was taken from his home on July 30 by a group of men dressed in black uniforms.
Later Superlano’s lawyer, Joel Garcia, got confirmation from the police that Superlano had been taken to “El helicoide”, one of Venezuela’s most feared prisons. Neither Garcia nor Superlano’s family have been able to reach him or receive any information of his wellbeing.
A couple of days later, Maria Oropeza, lawyer and state coordinator from opposition political party Vente Venezuela criticised the illegality and arbitrariness of the “Operación tun, tun” on her social media.
Just hours later, she streamed how the police arrived at her home, forced the front door open and took her away.
This time the DGCIM posted on Instagram a video of Oropeza being taken to a plane with her hands tied and later carried in a van to what seems to be a prison.
Her exact whereabouts and condition remain unknown.
In addition to significant opposition figures, regular people are also targeted. According to president Maduro’s public speech, about 2000 people have already been detained.
Torture in prisons
The detainees of operation tun tun are not entitled a private defense attorney, but are imposed one from the state, says Alfredo Romero, from NGO Foro Penal . Then the government organizes massive show trials, in which people are found guilty of hate crimes and terrorism and sentenced for as much as 30 years in prison.
Typically, the prisoners are not allowed to communicate with the outside world. Their families are not informed about their situation, not even in the cases where the prisoner is underage.
According to NGO Foro Penal, around 9 per cent of the people detained in past weeks have been minors, and a great majority in their twenties. Around 13 per cent are female and the rest male.
After the conviction, people are typically sent to maximum security prisons like Tocorón, Tocuyito. Political figures are likely to be sent to the infamous and feared torture prison, “El helicoide” .
Different NGO’s and former inmates have for years reported about overpopulation, lack of basic services and systematic violation of human rights in those prisons.
Rosmit Mantilla, Venezuelan lgbt+ activist, who now lives in exile in France, spent two years in “El helicoide”. He has talked about widespread physical and psychological tortures that includes locking prisoners in small spaces without windows, ventilation, beds or toilets, or even biting, raping and electrocuting them.
In an interview for a Swedish online magazine, Mantilla recalls the case of a young man who had his head covered with a plastic bag full of human excrement and was forced to breathe through it.
Even though there’s no fully accurate information about the situation in Venezuelan prisons just now, it’s safe to assume that the conditions have not improved, but worsened.
People protest against election fraud, Maduro answers with violence
Although Nicolás Maduro and his government have used repressive methods for years, past weeks have been unprecedented in cruelty.
Things started to get worse after the presidential election on July 28.
On election night, Maduro claimed victory based on National Election Council results, despite the exit polls pointing to an opposition victory.
This was followed by widespread claims of election fraud by both the Venezuelan opposition and foreign actors. For instance, the Carter Center, invited and approved by Maduro’s administration to observe the election, stated that the election could not be considered democratic, and “demonstrated clear bias” towards the incumbent president.
As Maduro stood by his claim, it was met with devastation by Venezuelan people.
Immediately on election night, thousands started to protest with cacerolazos, hitting kettles and metallic pots. Quickly, the discontent spread from the lower-class neighborhoods to the almost extinct middle-class ones, and then onto the streets. In different states people took down propaganda and knocked down several statues of the deceased president Hugo Chavez.
For Maduro’s government, this was the pretext needed to unleash a violent response. At least 21 people died during the ten days following the election, according to Tamara Suju, Human Rights Lawyer and executive chief of Casla Institute, on X.
On August 2, Maduro announced a decision to build so-called ideological re-education camps, where the detained protestors would eventually be placed.
A week later, he went after social media, which after years of heavy media censorship, has become the preferred communication method for the opposition and pretty much the only way of knowing what is happening in the country.
On Friday, August 9, Maduro banned the use of social media X for 10 days in Venezuela. It’s not quite clear, however, how the ban can be enforced.
The persecution has also spread to Venezuelans, who have left the country. The Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, reported that at least 16 activist have had their passports annulled.
Hasta el final, until the end
At least in one sense, the Venezuelan president has been a man of his words. Before the election, Nicolás Maduro promised on national television that if he lost, Venezuela would fall into a bloodshed.
Since Maduro’s response has been bloodshed even though he claims victory, it shows that the president is trying to stay in power with all the possible means.
Only a handful of countries, such as Cuba, North Korea and Russia have recognized Maduros victory. Most of the world, including the United States and the European Union have demanded the Maduro government to release official election data so that the results could be verified by a neutral actor.
To this date, the Venezuelan government has declined to do so.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan opposition has launched an open source platform where the results show overwhelming victory by the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia.
Gonzales Urrutia has released an audio recording calling Maduro to cease the arbitrary detentions and reminded him that peaceful protests are part of the Venezuelan constitutional rights.
Already over 7 million Venezuelans have fled the country. Majority of those who still remain, and voted for change, show no signs of giving up. Better a month of war than another 30 years of dictatorship, goes their argument.
The opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has called for a worldwide massive protest on August 17. Her message is: “This is a physical and spiritual fight, battle is until the end, hasta el final.”