“My son lives badly, I live badly”: the harsh routine of relatives of imprisoned protesters in Venezuela

Rotten food, little water and cold: mothers of detainees after the controversial re-election of Nicolás Maduro in July denounce that their relatives They receive “inhuman” treatment in Tocuyitoa maximum security prison in northern Venezuela.

And outside of prison conditions are not easy either.

Only women have visitation rights. At a protest Wednesday to demand their release, some wore white T-shirts emblazoned with slogans and the faces of their children.

«They are innocent. They are not thieves or murderers. The only thing we ask for is freedom,” says Mireya González, 53 years old, whose son Sandro Rodríguez, 25 years old, has been imprisoned for more than two months after being detained in Barquisimeto, a city 200 kilometers away.

The demonstrations that broke out after the announcement of Maduro’s victory left 27 dead, including 2 soldiers, and more than 2,400 detainees that the leftist leader himself calls “terrorists.”

Many were transferred to two maximum security prisons, Tocorón and Tocuyito, where they do not mix with the rest of the prison population.

The prisoners live in “inhumane” conditions and their relatives cannot give them anything, says a mother. “We are all mothers here, (we come) from all over the country.”

In Tocuyito, of 441 detained in demonstrations, “221 have some pathology. They don’t take care of them, they tell them: ‘we will take care of you when you are dying,’ says González, spokesperson for a group of approximately 50 mothers waiting outside the prison.

«There is no water. They give them very little food and it is bad. At first there were worms… This morning breakfast was rotten chicken that they couldn’t eat,” says another mother on condition of anonymity.

A family member assures that they have only received one uniform since their arrest. “There are no sheets and they are forced to tear up the mattresses and wrap themselves in them to keep from getting cold,” he describes. There have been numerous “suicide attempts,” he notes.

Yaisleth Petit, whose husband, Carlos Caripa, is also imprisoned, implores Maduro: “Give freedom to these innocent children. In the name of God!

“When I saw my husband I didn’t recognize him, he was a man who weighed 98 kilos, now he weighs 65. He suffered a lot from hunger, he was very bad,” she says.

“We are no longer afraid”

On the other side of the bars, life is also hard. Those who live far away choose to stay to avoid the costly transfer.

Yajaira Méndez, 45 years old, mother of Yholber Coronado, locked up in Tocuyito, lives in the neighboring state of Lara and shares a room with 15 other people.

“Each one pays 2 dollars a day,” he explains about the group, which sometimes receives help from associations or families.

The room is located on a lot of run-down houses near the prison.

On the floor there are four mattresses and on one of them some baby socks with the image of “Spiderman.” “We sleep three or four on a mattress,” says González.

In the small kitchen, the dishes are empty plastic margarine containers. “We reuse everything we can,” González emphasizes.

Marisela Peña, 28, aunt of 18-year-old Wilbert Aragurez, takes turns with other family members sleeping under the awning of a food store in front of the prison.

«We want to be very close to the prison because my nephew is very sick: he has seizures regularly and we want to be able to bring him medicine. And it’s cheaper than the hotel,” he says.

On the cement floor there are blankets and small travel bags.

Do you feel afraid? “We are no longer afraid since our children are in prison,” responds one of the mothers.

Electrician and carpenter Víctor Reyes, 46, has been camping in a small corner under the same awning for two months after his 19-year-old son, Ángel, was arrested.

Their comfort is limited to an electric stove, cardboard and a blanket to sleep on. He had migrated like 7 million other Venezuelans and returned from Colombia shortly before the July 28 elections to vote in Valencia, a city near Tocuyito.

He was planning to leave when his son was arrested. Being a man he cannot visit him, so this task is left to the grandmother.

«I live here day and night. My son lives badly, I live badly. (But) I will stay until they release him,” says Reyes.