NPR’s Leila Fadel speaks with Jesús Armas, a prominent Venezuelan opposition leader, who was – until recently – held at one of Latin America’s most notorious detention centers.
LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: Until just a few days ago, Jesus Armas, an opposition leader in Venezuela, was in prison for his political activism. Armas led the campaign of Edmundo Gonzalez, who is widely recognized as the rightful winner of the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election against Nicolás Maduro. For that work, he was abducted 14 months ago.
JESUS ARMAS: I tried to go to my car, and there was around eight people with masks and with guns. And they aimed at me, and they just took me by force.
FADEL: He was one of about 2,000 Venezuelans imprisoned in the election’s aftermath. Some estimate hundreds remain behind bars to this day. Armas, though, is one of at least 30 political prisoners released under the interim president, Delcy Rodriguez’s, government this past weekend. And when I got him on the line, it seemed like he still couldn’t believe he was actually free.
ARMAS: So everything have been so quick. So I feel great, but I think I still need some time to process everything, you know?
FADEL: Yeah. Fourteen months is a long time. But what was the conditions like when you were held?
ARMAS: The first stage was the moment when I was kidnapped. And then they put a plastic bag around my face to cut the air from me, too, so I can’t breathe with that. They wanted to know about Maria Corina Machado location, about Juan Pablo Guanipa location. Then I was moved to a prison. I was in a really small cell with 37 persons. There was a lot of rats inside the cell. We have to go to the bathroom in a plastic bag.
FADEL: Oh, my gosh.
ARMAS: There was no food. And these four or five days in this condition was really, really difficult. The third stage was in El Helicoide, maybe the most famous or the most important torture center of Venezuela, or maybe on the region. And the final stage, the fourth stage, was a time in prison, but with some rights. For example, I finally – after almost 11 months, I received a visit from my mom and my dad.
FADEL: Now, you were in prison when the United States struck Venezuela, took Nicolás Maduro and his wife earlier this year. How did you learn about it, and what do you make of the actions they took?
ARMAS: That was a really strange day for me. We hear this really strange sound, an explosion, and we were kind of expecting something to happen. After two or three hours, we hear some other guy in the prison that started to sing the Venezuelan national anthem. And he later screamed, Venezuela is now free. Venezuela is now free. And in that moment, we understood that maybe the United States were having an operation in Venezuela, but we didn’t have the entire information for two days.
FADEL: And when you understood what had happened, what did you think?
ARMAS: So I was with mixed emotions because, of course, I was happy. For me, was really happy, as for everyone in this prison, to learn about the Maduro situation. But we have this dream that maybe we will start the transition to democracy in that moment. But the truth is that Delcy Rodriguez, which is actually in the power right now…
FADEL: The former vice president of Maduro’s.
ARMAS: Exactly. She’s part of the regime. She is – actually, we blame her for many different cases of human rights violation.
FADEL: Now, you were one of about 30 political prisoners released. Was this part of a deal, an amnesty?
ARMAS: I think that this is not about the amnesty. This is about the pressure that the United States has put on the shoulders of Delcy Rodriguez and the regime. And we need more support of the United States to accelerate this process and, of course, to have attention to the mobile seamen (ph) as well.
FADEL: There is a pending bill – the Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence – that, if passed, would grant amnesty to individuals accused of crimes like treason or resisting authorities if those crimes were committed in the context of political activism or protest. When you hear the description of that bill and its possible passing, what do you think?
ARMAS: I think that this is not enough, but – because there are many people that maybe have some other charges, false charges against them that are also political prisoners. And this law is not going to be enough to release them. So I think that if we want peace in Venezuela, if we want reconciliation, we need to make a real step to have a rule of law.
FADEL: When you say you want the support of the United States, in what way? Do you want more military intervention or something else?
ARMAS: No. I think we need some pressure. I think the – President Trump has said in many difference opportunity that Delcy Rodriguez just do whatever the United States say. So we want Trump to say to her that – to call for a general election to allow to Maria Corina Machado to come back to the country, to allow the political activists to come back to the country and to organize an electoral process.
FADEL: Are you optimistic about the future?
ARMAS: Yes. Yes, I am, of course. I was in prison, you know, three days ago. Three days ago, I didn’t know that I was going to be free any time soon, so of course, I feel hope. I think that President Trump has done a great job supporting the Venezuelan people and taking Nicolás Maduro, but I think it’s not enough. So I’m optimistic, but I’m trying to fight for what is next and not just letting the things to luck.
FADEL: Jesus Armas is a Venezuelan opposition leader who was among the political prisoners released from detention last weekend. Thank you so much for speaking with us.
ARMAS: Thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF FELT’S “MAGELLAN”)
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