Cristina Ramírez was preparing her sofa bed in Buenos Aires for the arrival of her friend from Venezuela when she received a text message warning her that Edni López might be delayed. Officials at Caracas airport had stopped her, apparently because of a problem with her passport.
Four days later, López is still in custody of the Venezuelan authorities, and her family is becoming more and more worried that the university professor could be caught up in a brutal crackdown on protests against Nicolás Maduro’s apparent attempts to rig the presidential election.
“We know almost nothing. We have not been given permission to get Edni a lawyer and we don’t even know what she is accused of,” said Ramírez, her voice shaking with fear. “The uncertainty is hard to describe. We just hope that she will be released soon.”
After a wave of public unrest following the disputed election, Maduro vowed to “pulverize” the popular movement against him by sending security forces to arrest opposition activists in what he called “Operation Knock-Knock.”
According to the Caracas-based human rights organization Foro Penal, more than 1,100 people have been arrested since the election.
Prominent politicians were arrested, including Freddy Superlano, the national coordinator of the opposition Voluntad Popular party, who was dragged from his house by masked men.
Venezuela’s attorney general, a Maduro supporter, announced on Tuesday that opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González would be investigated for “incitement to insurrection” after they called on security forces to “side with the people” instead of crushing protests.
María Oropeza, campaign coordinator for the opposition Vente party in the state of Portuguesa, livestreamed her own arrest late Tuesday.
“Help me,” she pleaded live on Instagram as secret service agents smashed the lock on her front door. “I have done nothing wrong, I am not a criminal. I am just another citizen who wants a different country.”
Oropeza had spoken out against the mass arrests just hours before her own arrest.
But even people without political affiliation have fallen into Maduro’s manhunt, says Rafael Uzcategui, co-director of the human rights NGO Laboratorio de Paz. He suspects that the operation was aimed at forcing Venezuelans into submission through terror.
“There were rumors that Maduro was targeting election observers, but we have investigated the arrests and they are too massive to see any real pattern. Many of those arrested have no political affiliation and did not even participate in the protests. What we are seeing is simply an attempt to create a climate of terror,” he said.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric condemned Maduro on Wednesday for “serious human rights violations,” joining countries such as Guatemala, Argentina and Peru in rejecting Maduro’s “self-proclaimed” victory.
The United States and other governments more friendly to Maduro, including Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, have called on the Venezuelan president to release a breakdown of the vote count, but he has so far refused to comply.
“I have no doubt that the Maduro regime tried to commit fraud,” Boric told reporters.
Appearing on state television, a rebellious Maduro denounced an international “fascist” conspiracy to overthrow him and accused WhatsApp of spying on Venezuela.
The former bus driver showed clips of demonstrators at the mass demonstrations and then made alleged confessions in which he promised that he was “ready to do anything” to stay in power.
Many ordinary Venezuelans have deleted the messaging apps on their mobile phones, fearing that security forces could use their chat history as evidence of their dissent.
Edni López’s family says they have received information that the 33-year-old was transferred three times from her detention center to another facility, possibly for questioning, but they still do not know what she is accused of.
López teaches management courses at the Central University of Venezuela and advises humanitarian organizations, Ramírez said. She has no political affiliation and did not participate in the recent protests.
“She is very compassionate, philosophical and competent, which is why she brought all of those things together to help people through her work,” Ramirez said.
“Edni’s case is emblematic of the new kind of repression we are seeing in post-election Venezuela,” said Adam Isacson, director of the Washington office for Latin America. “In the past, the regime usually hid its illegal detentions under the cloak of legality, such as conducting trials and granting access to defense lawyers. Now even basic habeas corpus rights are routinely violated.”
