Venezuelan woman set on fire by pro-Maduro groups during protests pleads with NYC judge to imprison the dictator

Victim of Venezuelan Troops’ Violence Pleads for Justice in Court

A woman, injured after being hit with boiling water by Venezuelan troops during protests in Caracas in 2021, urged a federal judge in Manhattan on Monday to keep dictator Nicolas Maduro in jail for as long as possible.

The woman, who immigrated to the U.S. from Caracas not long after her injury, was among a group of protesters outside the courtroom. Inside, President Maduro, unexpectedly arrested in the U.S. over the weekend, pleaded not guilty to charges related to drug terrorism.

“I’m here today asking for him to be given the longest sentence possible,” the woman, now employed at a community center in New Rochelle, shared.

She went by Carmen, citing her concern for her family still in Venezuela as the reason for not revealing her full identity. Holding a photograph of her severe burns from the 2021 incident, Carmen described how she felt “tortured” for simply expressing her opinions.

“I was tortured for having a voice,” she remarked, recalling the painful experience when boiling water was poured on her.

“It all stemmed from the protests. They denied me my freedom of speech,” she explained.

Carmen also confronted a small group of left-leaning counter-protesters outside the courthouse who expressed their support for Maduro.

“Their views are completely opposite to what we believe,” she stated.

“He’s a murderer, a criminal. They can never understand what it feels like to go hungry or to need medical help and not receive it,” she said, emphasizing the dangers faced in Venezuela compared to the relative safety of protests in the U.S.