Jesús Armas - another voice for liberty silenced in Venezuela
A vocal supporter of freedom and democracy, and former IEA intern, has been arbitrarily detained in Venezuela
Jesús Armas, a former intern of the Institute of Economic Affairs and graduate of the University of Bristol, is missing in Venezuela.
Jesús, a human rights activist and social leader who spoke out for freedom and democracy, was arbitrarily detained on December 10, 2024, at 9:19 PM Caracas time. Six masked agents forcibly took him in an unmarked silver Toyota Fortuner SUV.
It is believed that Jesús is being held at El Helicoide, a well-known torture centre in Caracas, under the custody of SEBIN, Venezuela's political police. However, the Venezuelan authorities have failed to confirm his whereabouts. His status remains that of enforced disappearance.
Jesús played an important role in the opposition campaign during the July 28 presidential elections, in which Nicolás Maduro was defeated. Maduro has refused to recognize the result and launched a brutal crackdown on opposition figures.
Jesús is an Obama Foundation scholar and spent time in the UK as he received a Chevening Fellowship to complete his master's degree at the University of Bristol (2019–20). He worked with us at the IEA as an intern in 2020, and is remembered very fondly by everyone who worked alongside him. Our former colleague Emma Revell has written about his application to be an intern, when he was already an established political actor in Venezuela. He wanted to come to the IEA because it was, as far as he was concerned, the home of the liberty movement.
During that time we learned much from him. He spoke on the IEA YouTube channel about what was happening in Venezuela. Previously hailed as being a socialist utopia by many - including Jeremy Corbyn - it has long been a despotic regime in reality.
Jesús has previously written from hiding about the repression faced by opposition campaigns in Venezuela, including the imprisonment of campaigners and the shutting down of establishments such as hotels and restaurants that served them.
Opposition activists have collected the evidence that proves that Edmundo González was elected, winning 4 million more votes, over Maduro. Anyone can see that evidence here. But rather than accept defeat, Maduro has resorted to state terrorism to silence these voices, the latest of whom we at the IEA know well.
“The democratic world’s solidarity is essential to reclaiming Venezuela’s freedom” - Jesús Armas
Jesús said “the democratic world’s solidarity is essential to reclaiming Venezuela’s freedom”. We have written to the Foreign Secretary David Lammy and the British Embassy in Venezuela to make representations to the Venezuelan authorities for the immediate release of Jesús and others like him who have been arbitrarily detained.
Jesús’ case is one of over 2,000 arbitrary detentions recorded since the election. Many have faced torture or worse. He saw the United Kingdom as a beacon of liberty in the world. We need to be that now.