Italian Nationals Reflect on Year as Political Prisoners in Venezuela

Alberto Tolentini and Mario Burlo, two Italian nationals, have shared their distressing experiences after spending over a year as political prisoners in Venezuela. Detained by the local regime in November 2024, they were held for 14 months before their recent release.

Describing their ordeal to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Burlo compared the harsh conditions to “worse than Alcatraz,” revealing that he and Tolentini “slept on the floor with cockroaches for 14 months.”

The pair was incarcerated at Rodeo I Prison, where the regime reportedly continues to hold undisclosed numbers of political prisoners. Notably, they faced no formal charges, and it took six months before the Italian consul could visit them.

In interviews with local media, they recounted being crammed into a nearly pitch-black cell, with hardly enough space to walk six steps. They endured daily roll calls starting at 5:30 a.m., mentioning their names and nationalities, but they never met anyone outside their cell and ate a monotonous diet consisting mainly of corn arepas, passed through a small opening.

Other prisoners mentioned that they would sometimes be moved blindfolded from one cell to another, increasing their disorientation. Burlo was permitted to work in the prison garden for just one hour a day, five days a week, and had no access to books save for a Spanish Bible.

“We are very happy, but it came at an incredibly high cost. These 423 days of suffering are unforgettable,” Tolentini shared, noting that he met Burlo while working in the garden, leading to a friendship that helped them endure their time together.

Both men were released as part of a larger group of 24 political prisoners, a decision by the Venezuelan government. Upon their release, they were stripped of their prison clothes and given new ones, a common procedure meant to hide any physical signs of abuse.

Arriving back in Italy, they were welcomed by relatives, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Burlo expressed the psychological toll of their imprisonment, saying, “We aren’t physically tortured, but mentally we suffered. It felt like I hadn’t talked to my kids in a year.” He recalled his first phone call in nearly a year, filled with anxiety about his safety.

Burlo voiced his distress further, explaining to guards that “dogs have basic needs” and lamenting their treatment, which felt worse than that of animals. Throughout their imprisonment, he lost around 30 kilograms and had limited exposure to the outside world, only receiving news through the regime’s television a few times each week.

Upon reaching the Italian embassy in Caracas, they learned only then of Nicolas Maduro’s recent political changes. In Italy, analysts believe that their arrests served as a tactic by Maduro to exert pressure on Rome, possibly as a bargaining strategy related to extraditions and other political dealings.

At the time, very few of the over 800 confirmed political prisoners had been released. As of January 8, the Congress President announced plans for a “significant number” of prisoners to be freed, which has left many families waiting outside prisons, hoping for news of their loved ones.