Venezuela plan to turn notorious prison into cultural centre draws criticism

A report from Theguardian says acting president Delcy Rodríguez has announced plans to shut El Helicoide and convert the vast Caracas complex into a "sports, cultural and commercial centre for police families and neighbouring communities", a move Rodríguez presents as proof the government has turned the page since Maduro was captured and renditioned to the US.

Theguardian notes the spiralling, brutalist structure was conceived in the 1950s as the world’s first "drive-through shopping centre" but was never completed; under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro spaces meant for shops were turned into cells and El Helicoide became a notorious detention centre where reports document torture including electric shocks, beatings, suffocation and prolonged bans on family visits.

Activists welcome the prospect of a shutdown but warn that converting the site into a recreation centre would erase a symbol of repression.

Venezuela, Caracas