‘No one gets out of here alive’: Inside Venezuela’s Rodeo I prison

Former political prisoners of Venezuela's Rodeo I prison say they remain haunted by the punishments they endured at the hands of hooded jailers inside the country's most notorious prison.

The maximum-security facility is one of four towers that make up El Rodeo prison on the outskirts of Caracas and is reserved exclusively for opponents of the government.

Several former inmates have come forward to describe conditions inside the prison, despite fears of reprisals from the authorities who imprisoned them.


"This was it. The movie's over," Whillfer Pina remembers thinking when he first arrived with a hood over his head.

The prison director's welcome did little to ease his fears.

"No one gets out of here alive," the man known as "Shark" told the 47-year-old maths teacher and activist.

Pina had been accused of plotting an attack against then-president Nicolas Maduro in 2024. He was released in February under an amnesty process for political prisoners spearheaded by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced Maduro after his ouster by US forces in January.

Many others, however, remain imprisoned in Rodeo I and other prisons across Venezuela.

Rights group Foro Penal says at least 20 political prisoners have died in state custody, including one at Rodeo I. The NGO estimates that more than 344 people are currently imprisoned for political reasons in Venezuela, with dozens held at Rodeo I.

'World of terror'

Former inmates describe cramped and harsh conditions inside the facility. Each two-by-three-metre cell has a cement bunk bed, a corner serving as both a toilet and shower, and a tiny barred window.

With limited access to water, insects and disease are a constant problem. Pina jokes that he once set a record by killing 34 flies in a single day.

His tone changes, however, when he recalls suffering a high fever for 21 days without receiving medical attention.

"There was a time when I prayed so much to God. 'If I have to go, please let it be with dignity,'" he said.

Other former prisoners said they lost all sense of time, with sleep-deprived inmates made to listen to hours of government propaganda on television.

Prison guards kept their faces concealed, while human contact was largely absent.

Freddy Superlano, an opposition politician arrested after challenging Maduro's claim to a third electoral victory in 2024, said he spent hours watching birds and the moon through the narrow window of his cell.

The prison "is meant to drive you insane," he said, calling it "a world of terror."

"It's completely black...the atmosphere is very eerie."

"It's more a concentration camp than a prison," added the 50-year-old, who was also released in February.

'Time capsule'

For Pina, the fourth floor was the place inmates most feared. He said he saw several fellow detainees sent there after even minor acts of disobedience.

The harshest punishment, he said, was the "time capsule", a small cell where inmates could only stand and were kept hooded and handcuffed.

"They give you a little bit of water and a little bit of food once a day," and when you need to use the bathroom, "you're going to have to go on yourself," Pina said.

"They held a lot of foreigners there," he added.

United Nations investigators have reported that authorities tortured 64 political prisoners at the facility, all after Maduro's ouster.

"The violation of human rights is systematic," said Pina.

"It's not only physical, it's not only psychological, it's not only mental. It's programmed, built into that prison."

Human Rights Watch earlier this month called for the immediate closure of Rodeo I during a visit to Venezuela, 18 years after the organisation was expelled from the country.

(With inputs from AFP)