Carmen Arvelaez, 60, and Carmen Farfan, 57, do not know where their children are. Both were detained on November 25 “without a judicial order” in Venezuela and the two mothers demand that the authorities inform them where they are being held, following the Government’s announcement of the release of a “significant number of people.”
The two young people are a couple and, according to the mothers, have nothing to do with politics, but they were detained with a friend in Maturín, capital of the state of Monagas (west), and later transferred to a detention center in Caracas, the women told EFE.
Arvelaez and Farfan claim to not know the reasons for their children’s detention and have visited the detention center to which they were transferred in Caracas several times, but the police guards only respond that “they are not there.”
“Why don’t they tell us where they are? We are distressed, we are not even from here in Caracas, we are from Sucre (neighboring region of Monagas),” said Arvelaez, who believes that her daughter was detained “arbitrarily” and is “disappeared” along with her husband and her friend.
The mother demands from the authorities proof of life of the three and information about their whereabouts.
“I’m already tired, we are not girls, we are older people who have been looking for our children for more than a month,” added Arvelaez.
For his part, Farfan also told EFE that he has “gone everywhere and nowhere” did they “give him an answer” from the three.
Continue reading: Machado and Urrutia denounce the non-compliance with the announcement of releases in Venezuela
Full and unconditional freedom
“What we want is for you to please tell us where you have them, where they are, what situation they are in, to give us proof of life for our children,” he said.
In Caracas, they said, they have no relatives, so they are staying where they “lodge” them and help them.
Both accompanied the press conference this Tuesday of activists and relatives of political prisoners in Caracas to demand that the government of the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, release these prisoners “fully and unconditionally.”
The announcement of the releases came a few days after the United States attacks on Venezuelan territory and the capture of ruler Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The Government reported this Monday of 116 releases.
However, before noon this Tuesday, the NGO Foro Penal counted 56 releases and the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), which brings together the majority opposition, registered 76.
Activists denounce that the release process has progressed in dribs and drabs.
As of Sunday, the Penal Forum reported just over 800 political prisoners.
With information from EFE
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