Mothers, wives and children of political detainees complete three months of continuous vigil on April 7 at the doors of El Helicoide, headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) in Caracas. The Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners (Clippve) reported that the families have been maintaining uninterrupted prayer and peaceful protest since January 8, 2026.
«Time seems to stop in front of the emblematic building, but the families’ hope does not falter. “The mothers and other relatives are waiting to be reunited with their loved ones, who were separated arbitrarily according to the complaints,” Clippve said.
The organization accompanies this initiative that is based on religious faith and the demand for immediate justice. “The pain of these families does not extend any further. Enough of waiting!”, expressed the committee in a message released this Tuesday.
The organizations demand full and unconditional freedom for all political prisoners who are still held in Venezuela. El Helicoide, a former shopping center converted into a political prison, is accumulating international complaints for torture, prolonged incommunication and inhumane conditions.
According to data from organizations such as Foro Penal, hundreds of Venezuelans have passed through its facilities in recent years, many of them arrested after the 2024 protests and in previous periods for political reasons.
The vigil began in January 2026, just after authorities announced the release of a significant number of detainees; however, dozens of cases remain pending. The families denounce that the judicial processes involve serious irregularities and that many prisoners face total isolation or severe restrictions on visits and food deliveries.
Clippve, made up of family, friends and human rights defenders, turned this corner near Helicoide into an “altar of hope.” There they place photographs of the detainees, candles and banners with messages of freedom.
The initiative is maintained despite the constant surveillance of security forces. International and local organizations document more than 2,500 families affected by the arbitrary detention of opponents, activists, dissident soldiers and ordinary citizens.
The vigil became a symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of a crisis that persists despite the partial releases that occurred in the first months of the year.
The families insist on their central demand: immediate freedom for all. “A struggle that is sustained by faith in God and the conviction that justice must prevail,” CLIPPV reiterated, while adding that the vigil enters its fourth month with the same determination as the first day.
