Jesús Armas, a Courageous New Victim in Maduro’s State of Terror

Juan Pio Hernández is a 2024 McCain Global Leader from Venezuela and the executive director of Plan País, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that connects and educates the Venezuelan diaspora and youth through a platform for the exchange of knowledge, talent and ideas.

On December 10, fellow McCain Global Leader Jesús Armas was kidnapped by the Venezuelan regime's authorities. Jesús was taken hostage by a group of masked regime intelligence officials as he was leaving a coffee shop in Caracas. The regime kept Jesús hostage for over a week without his family or legal defense knowing any details of his whereabouts. On December 19, they were finally able to confirm he was transferred to El Helicoide - what is known to be the Western Hemisphere's largest torture center. It was also reported that Jesús was tortured ahead of his transfer to El Helicoide. The unfortunate case of Jesús is another example of the current state of terror that the Maduro regime has unleashed against the Venezuelan people after his defeat in the July 28^th presidential elections.

Jesús has been a lifelong activist and freedom fighter for the cause of a free Venezuela. He graduated as an industrial engineer from the Universidad Católica Andres Bello (UCAB), where he started his trajectory as a student leader when the 2007 student movement started challenging then President Hugo Chavez' early authoritarian impulses. He then became involved in the political arena as part of the Primero Justicia party and was elected in 2013 to the Municipal Council of the Libertador borough of Caracas (a municipality formerly known for its strong pro-regime support). During his tenure as a council member, Jesús focused on the evaluation and improvement of public services in the Venezuelan capital. At the same time, he received multiple threats from regime forces (particularly around the protests of 2017).

He is the founder and president of Ciudadanía Sin Límites, an NGO that fights to advance the cause of liberty, human rights, and democracy in Venezuela. From this role, he has continued his focus on seeking to improve the country's failing public services, monitoring the dire state of power and water supplies, and generating awareness for its improvement through protests and media advocacy. These activities with the objective of ensuring that the people's rights to clean water and electricity are upheld.

Jesús has also continued his academic preparation and has recently embarked on several scholarly projects focusing his research and work on energy policy for a free Venezuela. In 2020, he was awarded a Chevening Scholarship and received a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Bristol. He was also named an Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University for 2022-2023. In 2024, he started teaching at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV).

Since last year, Jesús was part of the political team of the Maria Corina Machado campaign which later morphed into the Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia campaign after the regime barred the candidacy of Maria Corina Machado. As the whole world should be aware of, Venezuelans overcame every obstacle and government abuse to go to the presidential elections this past July 28. On that day, the Venezuelan people spoke loudly and clearly that they wanted a change, and they voted for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in a 70-30% vote.

The regime has refused to recognize these results, proven by the democratic forces recollections of the voting records from 82% of the electoral centers, and have co-opted their puppet institutions to ratify Maduro as president-elect, even though the electoral authorities have failed to publish any official results. Since attempting this massive fraud, the Maduro regime has embarked on a state of terror where it has persecuted political opponents, activists, and even government-aligned officials who have spoken recognizing the results. As has been said by leaders in other forums, Venezuela right now is a concentration camp where the entire population is subject to these kinds of attacks, and the Maduro regime seems to be capable of anything in order to stay in power.

The case of Jesús is a new addition to the series of victims of this state of terror. Since July 28, the government has imprisoned over 2,000 people (including at least 42 underage teenagers). In the case of female detainees, these have been victims of harassment, rape, and other violations at the centers of reclusion.

There are also six members of Maria Corina Machado's team who are currently asking for asylum from the Embassy of Argentina, currently under the protection of the government of Brazil. The regime has responded to their request for asylum by undergoing a siege on this diplomatic premise by cutting the supply of electricity and water and limiting the entry of food and other supplies.

The Venezuelan people are currently living through this state of terror, and we need help from every democracy and freedom supporter around the world. We need your help in key tasks like:

1. Raising awareness about this state of terror and specific cases like the one of our fellow Jesús.
2. Advocating in your home countries or spheres of influence for leaders around the world to pressure the Maduro regime to negotiate for an orderly transition and end this state of terror, freeing all political prisoners.
3. Supporting Venezuela-related organizations fighting through these difficult times and mitigating the damage caused, like supporting the victims and their families, supporting those relocating outside of Venezuela to run away from persecution, and mitigating the impact caused by the potential migration flows that will take place if the dictatorship prevails.

Authoritarian regimes use terror and fear to impose their will at the expense of individual liberties. Repressing the people's will and using the level of human rights violations currently in place are serious crimes against humanity that need to be denounced and rejected at every level possible. Democratic forces around the world cannot be indifferent during these times of need, and we need all kinds of help ensuring that this state of terror ends and that Jesús and all political prisoners are released.

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