Venezuela confirms prisoner's death, after mother's long search

CARACAS, May 7 (Reuters) - Venezuela's government ‌on Thursday confirmed ​that ​a detainee whose 82-year-old mother had spent more than a year searching for him had died last July, after a court this ‌week rejected a bid to release him, citing the crimes he ⁠allegedly committed.

Victor Quero died in July 2025, the government said in a statement nearly 10 months ‌later, citing a death certificate that ‌pointed to "acute respiratory failure resulting from pulmonary thromboembolism" - a blockage in the pulmonary arteries - after being imprisoned in the country's infamous Rodeo I prison at ​the start of last year.

He was 50 years old.

Earlier this week, Moises Gutierrez, a lawyer with the NGO Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy, said ⁠a court rejected an amnesty request for Quero, saying that the crimes attributed to him did not meet ​the necessary legal requirements.

Venezuela's government did not say why Quero was detained or answer requests for comment.

The case drew particular attention because ​Quero's mother, Carmen Navas, has been active ‌on social and news media calling for his release. She said prison officials repeatedly refused to provide her with information on ⁠his whereabouts.

Venezuelan opposition group Vente Venezuela said Quero's death was the ninth to occur in state custody since July 2024.

"This is not a common death, this is a murder caused ⁠by the repressive bodies of Rodeo I, a torture center where so many cruel and inhumane ​acts are committed, and where dozens of Venezuelan and foreign prisoners remain political prisoners," Vente said in a statement.

Alfredo Romero, the head of Foro Penal, an NGO that tracks Venezuelan ‌prisoners, said officials at Rodeo I repeatedly told Quero's mother they did not know where he was.

Early this year, after the ‌U.S. attacked Caracas and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Venezuela's government passed ⁠an amnesty law intended to free hundreds ‌of people rights groups ​consider political prisoners.

Venezuelan authorities have always denied holding political prisoners and said those detained committed legitimate crimes.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by ‌Stephen Coates)

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