Venezuela acknowledges death of detained opposition figure Alfredo Diaz

CARACAS - Venezuela has acknowledged that an opposition figure died while in custody, as the Trump administration called Caracas “vile” and the South American country’s army swore in thousands of new soldiers amid mounting US military pressure.

Leftist President Nicolas Maduro has called for stepped-up military recruitment after the United States deployed a fleet of warships and the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.

Washington has accused Mr Maduro of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns,” which it declared a terrorist organisation last month.

Under US President Donald Trump, US forces have carried out deadly strikes on more than 20 alleged drug-smuggling vessels, killing at least 87 people.

But the passing of former opposition governor Alfredo Diaz, whom rights groups said died in prison on Dec 6 having been detained on charges of terrorism and incitement, has amplified the human rights dimension of the crisis.

“The death of Venezuelan political prisoner Alfredo Diaz, who was arbitrarily detained in the Maduro’s torture centre of El Helicoide, is yet another reminder of the vile nature of the criminal Maduro regime,” the US State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said in a post on X.

Venezuela’s interior and justice ministry said in a statement on Dec 7 that Mr Diaz suffered a heart attack on Dec 6 and attempts to revive him in a hospital failed.

With the United States cranking up military pressure on the oil-producing country, and Mr Maduro asserting the American deployment aims to overthrow him and seize the country’s oil reserves, Venezuela’s army swore in 5,600 soldiers on Dec 6.

“Under no circumstances will we allow an invasion by an imperialist force,” Colonel Gabriel Rendon said during a ceremony at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, in Caracas.

According to official figures, Venezuela has around 200,000 troops and an additional 200,000 police officers.

Mr Diaz, reportedly age 56, was at least the sixth opposition member to die in prison since November 2024.

They had been arrested following protests sparked by last July’s disputed election, when Mr Maduro claimed a third term despite accusations of fraud.

The protests resulted in 28 deaths and around 2,400 arrests, with nearly 2,000 people released since then.

Mr Diaz, governor of Nueva Esparta from 2017 to 2021, “had been imprisoned and held in isolation for a year; only one visit from his daughter was allowed,” said Mr Alfredo Romero, director of the NGO Foro Penal, which defends political prisoners.

The group says there are at least 887 political prisoners in Venezuela.

Opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado condemned the deaths of political prisoners during Venezuela’s “post-electoral repression”.

“The circumstances of these deaths – including denial of medical care, inhumane conditions, isolation, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment – reveal a sustained pattern of state repression,” Ms Machado said in a joint statement with Mr Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate she believes won the election.

The pair also called Mr Diaz’s death “a crime for which the regime bears full responsibility.” AFP