Family demands proof of life after Venezuela protester allegedly attempts suicide in prison: Video
Carlos Vallecillo, a 34-year-old Venezuelan protester detained following the contentious July elections, allegedly attempted suicide inside Tocorón prison in Aragua, north-central Venezuela.
According to his family, Vallecillo tried to take his own life on Sunday, December 8. However, authorities have denied these claims, stating that Vallecillo was instead treated for facial abscesses at the prison’s medical facility.
His three sisters, upon hearing the news, embarked on a 120-kilometre journey from Caracas to Tocorón on motorbikes, desperate for information about their brother’s condition.
"We want proof of life that my brother is truly alive, because what they showed us was just a photo, and that's not a guarantee that he is okay,” Yurisme Sánchez Ramírez, Vallecillo’s sister, told AFP. “We simply want to know that he is really alive and that they truly help us with that, so they allow us access to see him and show us that he is alive.”
Vallecillo was arrested on July 29, shortly after Nicolás Maduro secured a controversial third consecutive six-year term in elections disputed by opposition groups. The opposition claims the election was won by Edmundo González Urrutia, who currently lives in exile.
In the wake of the elections, over 2,000 individuals, including around 100 teenagers, were detained as the government cracked down on demonstrations. Officials have characterised the protests as part of a broader plan to incite civil war.
