Venezuelan Mother Appeals for Safe Return of Son Amid Post-Election Crackdown

By Carlos Ramirez

CARACAS (Reuters) – Bleider Leves, a 17-year-old mechanic, was on his way home in Caracas one evening in late July after Venezuela’s contested presidential election when police apprehended him on the street. According to his mother, officers beat, tortured, and detained him without justification.

Almost two months later, Bleider remains behind bars without any charges or indication of his release, as his mother, Adelaida Herrera, recounted in a recent interview. Human rights organizations have reported that the government’s crackdown following the disputed election has resulted in 25 deaths and 2,400 arrests.

"I’ve asked the authorities to please give him back to me," Herrera said, her eyes filled with tears.

Neither the communications ministry nor the attorney general’s office responded to inquiries regarding Bleider’s case or the number of detentions after the election.

Electoral officials and the highest court in the country declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July 28 election, claiming he received 52% of the vote. However, the opposition argues that voting machine receipts indicate a landslide victory for their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez.

Several Western governments, including the United States, have accused the Venezuelan government of electoral fraud.

Just two days after the election, Bleider was returning home from visiting his girlfriend when he was seized by police, even though his mother insists he did not participate in any anti-government protests.

His mother shared Bleider’s account of the events during her visits: police beat him, kicked him in the chest, and took him to a police station.

Hours later, law enforcement pressured him to falsely confess that the country’s opposition leader had paid him to protest. They reportedly used a method known locally as "the little onion," placing a plastic bag over his head.

"They tortured him… to make him say that Maria Corina was paying him $50 to protest," Herrera explained, referencing the opposition leader and former lawmaker Maria Corina Machado.

Bleider has been moved between detention centers multiple times, with Herrera last visiting him on September 16 at the Cementerio police station in southwest Caracas. Bringing him rice, vegetables, arepas, and cookies, she described her emotional state during the visit.

A recent United Nations report has highlighted an increase in government repression since the election, including the arrest of minors. The government has dismissed these allegations.

Herrera spends hours each day looking out of her son’s empty bedroom window. "I want them to give me an answer about my son and what’s going to happen because, honestly, I don’t want to keep living like this," she expressed.