San Francisco Frontiers - Inside the Venezuelan prison meant to 'drive you insane'

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

Several former inmates want to shed light on what goes on inside those walls, despite fears of reprisal from the authorities who put them there in the first place.

"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 welcoming words did nothing to assuage his worst fears.

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

Pina had been accused of planning an attack against then-president Nicolas Maduro in 2024.

He got out in February as part of an amnesty process for political prisoners spearheaded by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced Maduro after his ouster by US forces in January.

However, many others remain behind bars in Rodeo I and in prisons across the country.

According to the rights group Foro Penal, at least 20 political prisoners have died in state custody, including one in Rodeo I.

- 'World of terror' -

The NGO says more than 344 people are currently imprisoned for political reasons in Venezuela, dozens of them in Rodeo I.

Each two-by-three meter cell consists of a cement bunk bed, a corner that serves as both a toilet and a shower, and a tiny barred window.

Insects and disease thrive in such a cramped space due to scarce water access, and Pina jokes that he set the record for killing the most flies in one day -- 34.

But his tone sobers up when he recounts running a high fever for 21 days without 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.

Others who set foot in the facility say they lost all sense of time, with sleep-deprived inmates forced to listen to endless government propaganda TV programs.

Prison guards conceal their faces and human contact is practically nonexistent.

Freddy Superlano whittled the hours away watching birds and the moon through his narrow window to the outside world.

The opposition politician was arrested after challenging Maduro's claim to a third electoral victory in 2024.

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' -

The place nobody wants to end up is the fourth floor, where Pina witnessed several fellow detainees go following the slightest sign of disobedience.

The worst punishment is the "time capsule," he said, a small cell where inmates can only stand and are 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.

Authorities tortured 64 political prisoners in this facility, United Nations investigators reported, all of which occurred 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."

The NGO Human Rights Watch earlier this month called for the immediate closure of Rodeo I during a visit to Venezuela, 18 years after its expulsion from the country.

C.Lewis--SFF