A Venezuelan Mother's Desperate Search for Her Dead Son Is Representative of Ongoing Human Rights Violations
Meanwhile, Trump claims Venezuelans are “dancing in the streets.”
Carmen Navas spent a year going from prison to prison looking for her son Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, who was arrested last year by Venezuela's military intelligence. She filed petitions and sought proof that he was still alive, but prison officials stonewalled her. This week, the regime led by Venezuelan dictator Delcy Rodríguez finally admitted that Víctor died 10 months ago. He was 51.
Víctor was a karate teacher and street vendor who sold jeans and nutritional supplements and supported his mother with his meager earnings. He was known as "the Russian" because of his blond hair and light eyes.
In January 2025, he was arrested by plainclothes intelligence agents, reportedly because of his past service in the Venezuelan military. He was accused of treason, conspiracy, and terrorism, which are charges commonly used by Venezuelan prosecutors against political dissidents.
Víctor was sent to El Rodeo I, a prison outside Caracas, but his family didn't know where he was being held. A month after being taken into custody, he was taken to the prison infirmary because he had vomited blood. His fellow inmates never saw him again.
In October 2025, the regime finally told Carmen that her son was still being held at El Rodeo I. After she learned his location, Carmen visited the prison on at least a dozen occasions, hoping to see Víctor. During one visit, she was questioned by intelligence agents for over six hours. On another occasion, a prison official shouted at her: "Why do you insist on coming?" according to an account by journalist Víctor Amaya.
When Venezuela's prison ministry finally admitted that Víctor died on July 25, 2025, the cause of death was listed as respiratory failure. Officials also claimed that he hadn't listed any relatives and that no family members had formally requested a visit.
After he was pronounced dead, prison officials buried his body in a marked grave, and investigators say they're planning to exhume the body to confirm the cause of his death, but their findings won't be credible.
"The investigation cannot remain under the control of those responsible for the victim's custody," Martha Tineo, director of the Venezuela-based human rights organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, tells Reason. "Especially when there are elements that undermine the transparency and credibility of the official account."
While President Donald Trump said this week that Venezuelans were "dancing in the streets because they have a lot of money coming in," repression has continued from the interim authorities. Human rights groups estimate that 27 political prisoners have died in state custody over the past decade.
Minutes after the regime acknowledged Víctor's death, the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela posted on X about meetings on the business climate for energy-sector investment. Despite Delcy Rodríguez's promises of amnesty, 454 political prisoners remain behind bars according to Foro Penal, a human rights watchdog group.
