Venezuela's infamous Helicoide torture center
AFP / Yuri CORTEZ
The Venezuelan regime announced it will shut down an infamous detention center known for keeping and torturing political prisoners as it changes course on years of policies under pressure from the Trump administration.
The announcement was made by interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who also announced an amnesty for all political prisoners. It encompasses all periods of political violence since 1999 to date, she said.
The goal, she added, is "repairing the wounds that political confrontation from a place of violence, extremism, has left in Venezuelans and promote peaceful living."
Families of detainees have maintained vigils outside prisons since Jan. 8, sleeping near detention centers as they wait for official information about further releases and the legal status of their relatives, as Infobae reported earlier this month. The arrests stem largely from the period following the July 28, 2024 presidential election, after which more than 2,400 people were detained, according to official figures.
As for the Helicoide, the infamous detention center, it will be turned into a social, sports, cultural and commercial center for police officers and their families, as well as neighboring communities.
President Donald Trump had already anticipated the Helicoide would be shut down following the capture of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.
"They had a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas, and now it's being closed," Trump said. He repeatedly accused Maduro of overseeing torture and mass violence, referring to him as "a violent guy" who had "tortured people."
International observers have repeatedly described El Helicoide as a center of systematic abuse. A United Nations fact-finding mission previously reported the use of methods such as forced stress positions, suffocation with bags or water, electric shocks to the genitals, and beatings. It concluded that arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances form part of a broader strategy of political persecution in Venezuela.
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Tags: Venezuela, Donald Trump