Leopoldo Lopez screams for freedom from his Venezuelan prison cell

www.nyulocal.com October 29, 2014 

Last Saturday, Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez used the only thing he had, his voice and ideas, to communicate with his Venezuelan supporters. 

“We are not only protesting because of the injustices we suffer in this prison, but we are also doing it for all Venezuelans, whose human, social, economic and political rights are violated everyday,” the Harvard-educated politician yelled from his prison window to a crowd of supporters before alarms went off drowning the sound of his voice. In a shocking scene captured in video, Lopez once again asserted his dedication to what he called an “urgent change in the country,” and asked Venezuelans to not tremble in their search for freedom. 

Lopez has been held in a military prison on the outskirts of Caracas for more than nine months, without a trial, and in isolation. Even when the United Nations called for his release earlier this month, just a few days after Nicolas Maduros’ government obtained a two year term as one of the chairs of the Security Council. 

Hours before his pronouncement, officials told Lopez’s attorney that he would be transferred to a maximum-security prison as punishment for a protest that he and other political prisoners have been engaging in as a response to what they called the violation of their human rights. 

According to an October 24 written statement signed by Lopez and three other political prisoners, they have been completely isolated for seven months, with no visitations aside from family, and deprived of fresh air and sunlight. The document stated that the prisoner’s treatment has gotten worse after international support of the UN’s call for their freedom. The statement also announced that as part of their protest, Lopez and other political prisoners would make noise using the prison bars that jail them every night at 8 p.m. They called this movement “El Barrotazo,” and encouraged all Venezuelans to join them in making noise using the bars in their windows, which most Venezuelan homes have in order to keep safe from the high crime rate. 

Lopez and four student activists were imprisoned in February after President Nicolas Maduro blamed him for inciting the violent events that left at least 40 people dead during student protests earlier that month. 

Maduro has used political persecution as a key resource to maintain power, just like Chavez. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, between 2001 and 2010, at least 1,500 Venezuelans requested political asylum. In the past eleven years, the approved Venezuelan political asylums have increased by a staggering 1,156 percent, with many journalists and politicians citing prosecution and threats to their lives for voicing opposition to the government. 

Venezuelans who aren’t involved in politics often simply cite the country’s murder and kidnapping rates as a reason for their need for refuge in the United States. So many are fleeing the country that the Florida cities of Doral and Weston are now known as being highly populated by Venezuelans, with people often referring to them as “Westonzuela” and “Doralzuela.”