Jorge Enrique Alayeto Bigott He was arrested in August 2017 and prosecuted for his alleged connection with the attack on Fort Paramacay. Although he was a merchant and civilian, he ended up subjected to a process related to military crimes. He reported that he was tortured to force him to record a video about the events. In December 2025 he received a 30-year sentence. Today he remains in Tocuyito, while his wife and five children wait. that he can regain his freedom.
A life between business and motocross
Before his arrest, Jorge Alayeto He led a life linked to commerce, family and sport. He practiced motocross and enduro, and had developed several businesses on the San Luis hacienda, a family property located in Tocuyito, Carabobo state. There he had a motocross track, organized sporting events and managed a water bottling company.
On August 6, 2017, officials from the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (Dgcim) They arrested him when he was with his family at a motocross activity on that ranch. His nephew Alfonso Ochoa Alayeto was also arrested that day, according to the Foro Penal record.
The arrest completely changed the family’s life. Alayeto He was transferred to the Dgcim headquarters in Boleíta, Caracas. His case was related to the attack on Fort Paramacay, which occurred that same day, and to the recording and dissemination of a video about the soldiers who participated in the operation.
The authorities linked him to those events. Alayeto, for his part, denied having had that participation and reported that he was forced to declare himself responsible for recording and publishing the audiovisual material.
A civilian before military justice
Alayeto was not a soldier nor did he belong to the Armed Forces. He was a merchant, but he was prosecuted by military courts for his alleged connection with the attack on Fort Paramacay. His case raises questions about the jurisdiction of military justice to try civilian citizens and about the guarantees of due process.
The confession that, according to him, he obtained under torture
During the judicial process, Alayeto He reported that he was beaten and pressured by Dgcim officials to admit participation that he denied. According to his testimony, the attacks were also used against his nephew, arrested along with him.
The merchant explained that he had taken on Alfonso Ochoa’s upbringing after he lost his father when he was a child. For this reason, he assured that seeing him handcuffed, hooded and bloodied, while he was allegedly tortured, led him to give in to the officials’ demands.
The instruction he received, according to his story, was to say that he had recorded the video and had spread it on social networks. Alayeto maintained that he ended up accepting that version to prevent the attacks against his nephew from continuing.
In a hearing, he pointed out the Dgcim official Abel Angola as one of the alleged perpetrators of the torture.. The complaint was especially relevant because Angola appeared as a witness in the process. Alayeto identified him in court and questioned his participation in the case after having pointed him out for the attacks he claimed he suffered during his detention.
The defense and family members have questioned the use of that testimony and have asked that allegations of torture and cruel treatment be investigated. These are statements made by Alayeto and his entourage that must be examined by the competent authorities.
From Ramo Verde to Tocuyito: a family that continues waiting
During his confinement, Alayeto has been through different penitentiary centers. He was in Ramo Verde, then in Rodeo III and, for three years and five months, he has remained in the Carabobo Judicial Confinement Center, known as Tocuyito, according to his wife.
Visits take place every other week. However, economic difficulties prevent the family from being able to attend that frequently. His wife explained that she makes an effort to visit him once a month and tries to ensure that the meetings coincide with the days in which the children can attend.
“For economic reasons, I can only come once a month,” he said. So that her children can see their father, she organizes the expenses and raises a little more money for the transfer, the visit and the things she needs to bring him.
The arrest also ended commercial projects Alayeto had built before August 2017. The motocross track, sporting events and water bottling plant were left behind. The family lost the sources of income that depended on these activities.
«Everything was lost. “I don’t have any type of income from anywhere,” Alayeto said when remembering what happened to his businesses.
But for his wife, the most difficult consequence to explain is the absence of the father in the daily lives of their five children. It’s not just about the years they’ve spent without sharing a house, but about the important moments they haven’t been able to experience together: birthdays, graduations, family celebrations, and special dates.
«The pain of children is that dad is not there every day to help you grow, to share special moments. “Dad is no longer around for birthdays, graduations, Christmas, Father’s Day,” he said.
Wife Yanelly Sandoval describes those years as a mix of pain, uncertainty and hope. Faith, he says, is what allows him to get up every day and continue to accompany him, even when he doesn’t know when an answer will come.
«There is always pain, but in the midst of all that there is also hope. It is what sustains you and helps you maintain yourself every day,” he said.
After so many years, he is also worried that Jorge may feel that he is alone or that his family has forgotten him. That is why he tries to maintain contact and let him know that his children are still watching him.
“Don’t forget that you have a family that loves you and waits for you,” he said. And he summarized the family commitment with a phrase: “We are there with a lot of pain, but we are there for him.”
A 30-year sentence and a contested appeal
Alayeto’s case is part of the judicial process for the attack on Fort Paramacay. On December 19, 2025, 23 people linked to that case were sentenced to 30 years in prison, according to reports The Pitazo. Alayeto was among those sentenced.
The defense has questioned different aspects of the procedure, including allegations of torture, procedural guarantees and the way the trial was conducted. It has also raised objections about the jurisdiction of the courts that heard the case and the right of the accused to have a trial in accordance with legal guarantees.
The appeal hearing took place on August 26, 2026. However, the process had new questions. In October, Foro Penal lawyers reported delays in the processing of the file. On the 28th of that month, the organization reported that a new hearing had been held in Room 2 of the Carabobo Court of Appeals, which its representatives described as null and illegal.
The defense has insisted that allegations of torture and possible procedural flaws must be reviewed before a decision is made on sentences.
A prisoner with dual nationality
Jorge Enrique Alayeto Bigott has Venezuelan and Spanish nationality. Foro Penal included it in its March 2025 special report on political prisoners with foreign nationality and dual nationality. In that document, the organization recorded his arrest on August 6, 2017 and outlined health problems that required medical attention.
Eight Spaniards were released, but Alayeto remains imprisoned
The release of Spanish citizens announced by the Venezuelan authorities in January 2026 generated expectations among the families of prisoners with dual nationality who remained detained in the country. On January 8, five Spanish citizens were released. Five days later, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, confirmed the release of three other Spaniards with dual nationality.
In total, eight people with Spanish nationality regained their freedom during those days. Jorge Enrique Alayeto Bigott, however, continues to be detained in Tocuyito. His story is not limited to the judicial file. It is also that of a merchant who lost his businesses, a father who has been absent from his children’s fundamental moments and a man who reported having been forced to make a confession.
