(Caracas, May 7, 2026) The Human Rights Committee of Vente Venezuela condemned this Thursday the death of Víctor Hugo Quero, who had been forcibly disappeared since January 1, 2025, while under regime custody.
Full statement:
THEY KILLED HIM. Vente DDHH condemns the death of Víctor Hugo Quero in regime custody
From the Human Rights Committee of Vente Venezuela, we strongly condemn the tragic killing of Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, a Venezuelan citizen kidnapped and subjected to enforced disappearance since January 1, 2025. Since then, he remained under the direct responsibility of the regime, whose institutions now acknowledge that he died in custody nearly ONE YEAR ago.
With the death of Víctor Hugo Quero, the number of people killed while under State custody since July 28, 2024 rises to nine (9).
This was not a natural death. It was a killing carried out within El Rodeo I, a detention center widely denounced for torture and cruel, inhuman treatment, where dozens of Venezuelan and foreign political prisoners remain detained.
We express our solidarity with his mother, Carmen Navas, who spent months tirelessly searching for information and demanding proof of life for her son in detention centers and courts across the country.
A desperate mother was denied answers because they had already killed her son.
This is a crime against humanity and an irreparable tragedy for a family that, months after the events, is only now receiving this devastating news.
The death of Víctor Quero must not go unpunished.
May 7, 2026.