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7h ago

Venezuela Confirms Opposition Leader Alfredo Díaz Died in Custody as U.S. Condemns Maduro Government

Officials attribute the death to a heart attack after a hospital transfer, with rights groups challenging the account and detention conditions at El Helicoide.

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Overview

  • Díaz’s death was acknowledged by the penitentiary ministry, which said he showed symptoms consistent with a myocardial infarction and died minutes after arriving at a Caracas hospital.
  • The opposition and human-rights advocates blame authorities for denying timely medical care and cite El Helicoide as a site of abusive conditions.
  • The U.S. State Department denounced the case, calling it further evidence of the Maduro government’s repressive record.
  • NGO Foro Penal reports Díaz is at least the sixth opposition detainee to die in state custody since November 2024 and says Venezuela holds hundreds of political prisoners.
  • Díaz, a former Nueva Esparta governor arrested in November 2024 on charges including terrorism and incitement to hatred, faced restricted family access and was assigned a public defender over his family’s chosen lawyers.