President Trump told the world on Saturday that, after deposing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, the U.S. will be in charge in Caracas. “We are going to run the country now,” he said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference.
Yet more than three days later nearly 800 political prisoners remain behind bars in Venezuela’s notorious dungeons. Are we supposed to believe this is U.S. policy? Or is the old regime—under the new management of Maduro henchwoman Delcy Rodríguez—still in charge?
Locking up dissidents to frighten the population into submission is a staple of the Maduro political machine. Foro Penal, the Venezuelan nonprofit that tracks political prisoners,says there have been 18,618 such detentions in the country since 2014.
Venezuela tried to paint a merciful profile on Christmas Day by claiming to release some 99 dissidents. Most had been arrested during protests against the regime’s stolen presidential election in July 2024. But Foro Penal also reports that in the week ending Dec. 29 there were 10 new arrests. At that rate the dictatorship can refill its cells in a few months.
Families of prisoners and some former prisoners report that conditions inside the jails are inhumane. They report beatings, psychological torture and lack of sunlight, adequate food and medical care.
Foro Penal finds that the majority of those doing time have been denied even the standard sham trial. Only 184 have been convicted. Foro Penal says the whereabouts of another 68 dissidents grabbed by authorities are “unknown,” which means they may have been killed.
Foro Penal political-prisoner totals include 176 members of the military. Their detention explains why there has been no uprising in the barracks, despite reports that mid-level officers and enlisted soldiers support the political opposition. Breathe a word of dissent, and military counter-intelligence will see that you’re put away.
This was the reality under Mr. Maduro, who is now in a Brooklyn jail cell. Remind us again: Is Mr. Trump running Venezuela, or not?