According to Donald Trump, the closure would occur “under the authority” of Delcy Rodríguez.
MIAMI, United States. – The president of the United States, Donald Trump, stated this Tuesday that the Venezuelan authorities were “closing” a torture center in Caracas, which he described as “a torture chamber in the middle of the city,” after the capture of Nicolas Maduro.
However, Trump did not identify the location by name or present evidence or a timeline for how and when the closure would occur, and so far there is no independent public confirmation from Caracas to support that announcement.
According to the president himself, the closure would occur “under the authority” of Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in as interim president after Maduro’s arrest. The Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela ordered that Rodríguez take over as the representative in charge “to guarantee administrative continuity,” in the context of the US operation that detained Maduro.
Although Trump did not mention the name of the facility, his description fits El Helicoide, a detention complex in Caracas operated by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and cited for years by international organizations and mechanisms for complaints of arbitrary detentions, incommunicado detention and risk of mistreatment.
In 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern due to the conditions of detention in centers “previously administered by intelligence services (Helicoide and Boleíta)” and noted that they are not suitable for confinement, in part due to “the risks of mistreatment and incommunicado detention.”
Human rights organizations have also documented restrictions and conditions reported by relatives of prisoners there. Human Rights Watch, for example, has reported about cases of detainees in El Helicoide held incommunicado and about limitations on the delivery of food and basic items by family members. Amnesty International, for its part, has described to El Helicoide as a SEBIN detention center where people arbitrarily detained for political reasons have been held.
Trump’s statement came amid a rapid reconfiguration of power in Caracas following Maduro’s capture and transfer to the United States. After the arrest, the Venezuelan state apparatus moved to project internal functioning and appointed Rodríguez as interim presidentwhile Maduro appeared in court in New York. Rodríguez has described Maduro’s detention as a “kidnapping” and, at the same time, assumed interim command functions by decision of the highest court.
In his speech, Trump linked the alleged closure of the center to the repression commanded by Maduro. “He has tortured (…). They had a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas (…) and they are closing it,” he said. However, he did not specify whether the place would be vacated, converted, formally closed or placed under another administration, nor did he clarify what would happen to the detainees.
