U.S. Citizens Detail Being Hooded And Beaten Up At High-Security Prison in Venezuela

For years, the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela has incarcerated political opponents and dissidents as a coercion tool. Although dozens of people have been freed in recent months, especially those imprisoned during the July elections protests, Foro Penal, a Caracas-based legal assistance group suggests that nearly 1,000 people remain behind bars for political reasons in the South American country.

That number includes foreign or dual nationals from about 13 different countries. In the past, the regime has used such prisoners as leverage in foreign policy negotiations.

That was the case for six Americans who were released and returned to the U.S. in late January. Three of them talked to The New York Times about their five-month experience inside a Venezuelan prison, detailing their harrowing experience.

The former prisoners revealed that they were confined to cement cells, beaten, pepper-sprayed and subjected to "psychological torture" by Venezuelan prison guards.

"Welcome to Venezuela. Welcome to hell"

Once arrested by Venezuelan law enforcement, the detained Americans were handcuffed, hooded and put on a plane to Caracas where they were held at a high-security prison called Rodeo One.

After three months, Gregory David Werber, one of the detainees, was fed up with the unfair treatment received and sought to fight back. "We're all innocent!" he shouted, banging his cell door, he recalled. "Let us go!"

But according to Werber, the guards quickly reacted to the situation by putting bags over prisoners heads and beating them up.

David Guillaume, a traveling nurse from Florida, told The New York Times one of the regiment leaders put his foot on Guillaume's head and said "Welcome to Venezuela. Welcome to hell.'"

The release

After months of uncertainty, the Trump administration reached an agreement with Maduro for the release of the prisoners following a visit by special envoy Richard Grenell to South America. The meeting also yielded the acceptance of deportation flights from the U.S.

Even after the release of the prisoners, the State Department says nine additional U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents remain incarcerated in Venezuela, accused of terrorism and plotting to kill Maduro. According to Foro Penal, there are at least 68 foreign passport holders wrongfully detained in Venezuela at the moment, a record during the Maduro regime.