María Corina Machado issued a demand this Friday for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Venezuela, emphasizing the urgency "before more lives are lost," following revelations that the regime concealed the death of Víctor Hugo Quero Navas for over nine months. Quero Navas, a 51-year-old street vendor, was detained on January 1, 2025, and died while in state custody.
In a video posted on X, the opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate appealed to "democratic governments, public officials, international organizations, and everyone with a conscience to demand the immediate release of all political prisoners in Venezuela and the dismantling of the regime's torture centers, to prevent any more innocent Venezuelans from dying under state custody."
Machado lamented, "For Víctor Hugo and Carmen, it was already too late," referencing Carmen Teresa Navas, the 81-year-old mother of the deceased, who spent 16 agonizing months searching for her son across various prisons and institutions.
The Abuses of the Regime
Machado detailed the horrific chain of abuses: "He was forcibly disappeared, imprisoned without due process, taken to a torture center, tortured, left to die in custody, buried without his family's knowledge, and for over nine months, his death was kept secret from his mother."
The opposition leader pointed a finger at acting president Delcy Rodríguez, holding her accountable: "The decision was made by the Venezuelan regime and the officials responsible for the penitentiary system operating under the authority and command of Delcy Rodríguez."
Machado condemned as "an ultimate act of cynicism and cruelty" the regime's denial of amnesty to Quero Navas, despite knowing he was already deceased.
Government's Cover-Up Exposed
The Ministry of Penitentiary Services confirmed this week that Quero Navas was incarcerated at El Rodeo I prison near Caracas from January 3, 2025. He was transferred to a hospital on July 15 of that year due to "upper gastrointestinal bleeding and acute febrile syndrome," and he died on July 24, 2025, from "acute respiratory failure secondary to pulmonary embolism."
His body was secretly buried in a shared grave in southeastern Caracas, marked only with a paper headstone, without informing his family.
This Friday, the Prosecutor's Office ordered the exhumation of the body, a process witnessed by Carmen Navas, who visually identified her son's remains.
The Public Defender's Office had incorrectly reported in October 2025 that Quero Navas was still at El Rodeo I, even though he had been dead for three months, further fueling accusations of an institutional cover-up.
International Reaction and Political Consequences
The case sparked immediate reactions in Washington. Republican Senator Rick Scott called for the reinstatement of U.S. sanctions on Delcy Rodríguez, accusing the regime of "kidnapping, torturing, isolating, and murdering" Quero Navas.
The Trump administration had removed Rodríguez from the OFAC sanctions list on April 1, 2026, after formally recognizing her as head of state, a move that created friction with some congressional factions.
The Voluntad Popular party also criticized Rodríguez's regime for its modus operandi, which involves releasing political prisoners under restrictive conditions that prevent them from exercising their political rights and, in some cases, ban them from leaving the country.
Former Venezuelan prisoners have reported systematic torture in regime detention centers, a pattern Machado insists must be dismantled immediately.
According to NGOs, 27 individuals detained for political reasons have died in Venezuelan state custody since 2014, with at least eight political prisoners dying in Venezuelan prisons since July 2024.
Understanding the Venezuelan Political Crisis
What prompted María Corina Machado's demand for the release of political prisoners?
Machado's demand was sparked by the death of Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, which was hidden by the Venezuelan regime for over nine months. His death highlighted the extreme conditions and abuses faced by political prisoners in the country.
How has the international community reacted to the situation in Venezuela?
The international community, including U.S. politicians like Senator Rick Scott, has called for actions such as reinstating sanctions against Venezuelan officials like Delcy Rodríguez, in response to the regime's human rights violations.