The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) reported this Tuesday the death of Omaira Navas, mother of journalist Ramón Centeno, who was recently released after spending four years detained in Venezuela.
“It is with great regret that we inform you that this January 27, Mrs. Omaira Navas, mother of our colleague and friend Ramón Centeno, passed away,” said the SNTP in a message published on the social network X.
Centeno regained his freedom on January 14after having been accused of being part of an alleged “drug trafficking network dedicated to recruiting public officials,” charges that trade union and human rights organizations described as unfounded.
“My mother fought until she saw me free”
After hearing the news, Ramón Centeno expressed a message of gratitude in which he recalled his mother’s tireless fight for his release.
“My mother fought until she saw me free. She did not rest a single day until she saw me without the chains that I carried for four long years. Thank you, really thank you,” he wrote.
The organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón indicated that Omaira Navas died after suffering a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and stressed that he lived for years “the pain of the arbitrary detention of his son, facing the anguish of separation and uncertainty.”
He also regretted that he could not fully share with him the moments of freedom that he had long awaited after his release.
Deterioration of Ramón Centeno’s health in prison
The National College of Journalists (CNP), Caracas section, repeatedly warned about Centeno’s delicate state of healthwho before his arrest had undergone surgery on his hip and femur, and remained in bed with reduced mobility.
His mother insistently requested humanitarian precautionary measures, denouncing that her son suffered two falls in prison, which further aggravated his physical condition. According to the CNP, Centeno was a victim of procedural delays that seriously affected his health and constituted a violation of their human rights.
At the time of his release, the journalist was in a wheelchair, after a hip fracture that was not treated in a timely manner during his detention.
The SNTP highlighted that Omaira Navas, a native of Coro, Falcón state, became a visible figure in the defense of the rights of political prisoners in Venezuela.
“Omaira represented the resilience of many Venezuelan mothers who fight for their unjustly detained children,” said the CNP when mourning her death.
