Ana Velásquez said that her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Víctor Soto Méndez, along with Deibis Mota Marrero and Carlos Peña Palmentieri, were taken from the Ramo Verde prison to the courts “with the alleged offer of being released and they were never transferred.” The SOS Libertad Family NGO reported that along with these three men, eight other soldiers imprisoned for political reasons were taken from Ramo Verde to an unknown destination.
Relatives of Lieutenant Colonel Víctor Soto Méndez, sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for “rebellion”, reported this Tuesday, November 4, his forced disappearance after being informed that they would be transferred to court.
In a videodisclosed by the NGO Familia SOS Libertad, Ana Velásquez said that her husband and other companions (Carlos Peña Palmentieri and Deibis Mota Marrero) were taken from the National Center for Military Prosecutions (Cenapromil) Los Teques with “all their belongings” to courts “with the alleged offer of being released and they were never transferred.”
The relatives were informed by the lawyers that they “never arrived” at court, and since Monday, November 3, they do not know where they are.
Velásquez said that the lieutenant colonel and the rest of the soldiers in his case had already served the sentence of seven years and six months in prison on September 9, but their release had not been processed. Likewise, he asked international organizations to “do what is necessary to guarantee his life and human rights.”
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Lieutenant Colonels Igbert Marín Chaparro, Deibis Mota Marrero, Carlos Peña Palmentieri and Víctor Soto Méndez were detained in different proceedings in March 2018 and were accused in military courts for the alleged crimes of instigation of rebellion, against military decorum and treason.
The Third Military Control Court of Caracas only admitted the first two accusations and on December 16, 2020, it convicted them. In February 2023, the Criminal Chamber of the TSJ ratified the conviction after rejecting the appeals of his lawyers.
The four soldiers have denounced that in their cases not enough evidence was presented to demonstrate the alleged conspiracy in which they are linked. They have also pointed out the various tortures to which they have been subjected in different detention centers.
For its part, the SOS Libertad Family NGO pointed out that, in addition to these three men, eight other soldiers were transferred without informing their families, among them Lieutenant Colonel Pedro Garrido Guillén, who has served his sentence since January 11, 2024.
She also denounced that the women of the so-called “Governor cause”, also held in Ramo Verde, were threatened with being transferred to La Pica prison, “which intensifies our concerns about their safety and well-being.”
The organization stated that the silence about these disappearances “is unacceptable and generates deep anguish.”
«It is vital that the authorities act responsibly and provide clear answers. The safety of our families and transparency in these processes are fundamental. We demand that justice be done and that communication be restored. “We cannot allow uncertainty to win!” they highlighted.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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