Families search Caracas detention centers as at least 66 detainees remain unaccounted for

Families across Venezuela have been camping outside detention centers in Caracas and other cities as they search for relatives taken by state authorities and never acknowledged; rights groups say at least 66 people remain missing even as dozens of political prisoners have been freed.

Relatives describe raids and unexplained arrests. Carolina Carrizo said uniformed officers forced their way into her home and took her husband, Omar Torres, and that she has slept outside the Zona 7 detention center for weeks without confirmation that he is there. Other families have waited outside El Helicoide and Rodeo I and say guards deny holding the missing while they report hearing screams from inside.

Foro Penal, a rights group that tracks politically motivated detentions, says the locations of at least 66 detainees are unknown; about 30 of those were arrested during the 2020 Operation Gideon. Foro Penal also says nearly 800 people considered political prisoners remain detained after 154 were released recently.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have reported a rise in forced disappearances after the July 2024 election and described the practice as a serious violation that leaves detainees outside legal protections. Families say they have searched prisons, police stations, hospitals and morgues and received no information; the Venezuelan government did not respond to requests for comment.

Key Topics

World, Foro Penal, El Helicoide, Rodeo I, Operation Gideon, Nicolás Maduro