This week, former political prisoners from Nicolás Maduro’s regime and families of slain protesters shared their troubling stories with NTN24 after Maduro’s recent arrest during a U.S. operation.
NTN24 spoke with Birka Fernández, a former student leader who faced an unjust arrest. Released in 2016, he had been accused by state media of attempting to “destabilize” the regime. After his release, he moved to Peru through cooperation with the Peruvian government.
Fernández described the horrific conditions and torture that political prisoners endure in Venezuela, particularly highlighting El Helicoid, known as the most notorious torture center in Caracas, where he said the experience resembles “hell.” He pointed out that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are now in the U.S. judicial system—this, he argued, is justice, as opposed to the lack of rights in Venezuela.
“There’s no comparison,” Fernández stated, recalling how he was welcomed at El Helicoid—a chilling introduction to torture. He mentioned that being confined for weeks in handcuffs without food or water is a hellish existence.
“It’s hell when they electrify testicles and chests, throw tear gas, and beat people,” he elaborated. “Hell is being assaulted by numerous officials, stripped naked, and forced into a dungeon called El Tigrito, where there’s no light or air, just oppressive heat.”
He specifically called out Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab, branding him a “poet of torture” for fabricating charges against political prisoners to carry out the regime’s dirty work.
Currently, Maduro and Flores are facing narcoterrorism charges in a New York court, with Maduro pleading not guilty. NTN24 reported that a group of Maduro’s victims has lodged a formal complaint in Brooklyn, seeking to hold him accountable for torture and crimes against humanity. Their complaint alleges a systematic state-sanctioned torture regime under Maduro.
Israel Cañizares, whose 18-year-old son Armando was killed during a protest in 2017, also shared his experience. He expressed his heartbreak at seeing Maduro celebrate publicly while suffering and brutality were rampant against protesters. “While he danced on stage, my son was being murdered,” Cañizares said, adding that he feels conflicted joy amidst their suffering.
Though acknowledging that Maduro’s arrest marks a step forward, Cañizares emphasized that it doesn’t mend the past wounds. He insists on pursuing justice, addressing not just narco-terrorism charges but also demanding accountability for murder, torture, and suppression of free speech, relying on reports from international organizations.
“We’re not after revenge; we want justice,” he declared, reflecting on his son’s unjust fate and the loss of many young lives.
A recent report from the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional highlighted the grim legacy of Maduro’s regime, noting over 300 deaths linked to anti-regime protests from 2013 to 2025, with the year 2017 proving particularly deadly. It also discussed the widespread political detentions, with more than 18,000 people imprisoned since 2014, many suffering inhumane conditions.
El Nacional pointed out that the crisis triggered by Maduro’s era forced approximately 7.9 million Venezuelans to flee, illustrating the extent of the humanitarian disaster resulting from socialism.
