Jesús Martínez Medina, 36, who suffered from type II diabetes and had heart problems, died in political custody on the morning of November 14.
His family confirmed his death to Venezuelan independent outlet El Pitazo. Medina was detained on July 29 in the northeastern state of Anzoategui, after being an electoral witness during the disputed presidential election.
According to human rights NGO Foro Penal, 1,848 people have been detained for political reasons since the July 28 election, when protests broke out against the electoral authority’s (CNE) proclamation of Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidency. This is the largest number of political prisoners in Venezuela in the 21st century.
While Martínez was imprisoned in police headquarters in Anzoategui, he developed abscesses on his skin due to being denied medical care to treat his diabetes.
On November 8, lawyer and ex-prosecutor Zair Mundaray denounced how Martínez was not provided medical attention until his entire leg was infected. He was transferred to the Luis Razzetti hospital in Barcelona, Anzoategui state and remained there until his death.
At the hospital, Martínez was not allowed an ultrasound to see if his leg should be amputated, Mundaray explained in a post on X.
Martínez’s death has been condemned by several human rights activists, NGOs and opposition political parties and leaders.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado issued a statement, affirming that Martinez’s death was “another crime by Maduro and his regime.”
The political leader added that Martínez “died at the hands (of the government), he died because of the inhumane conditions under which he was held. To his mother, Mary, and his young daughter Susej, and all his companions, I send all my strength, my care and my blessings.”
A statement from the opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD), said that Martinez’s “case reflects the inhumane conditions” faced by “nearly 2,000 political prisoners in Venezuelan prisons.”
Edmundo González Urrutia, the presidential candidate for the Unitary Platform widely believed to have won the election, called Martinez “one of the heroes who on July 28 defended the vote of more than 7 million Venezuelans who voted for change.”
The Venezuelan opposition gathered and published over 80% of precinct-level voting tabulations, with the help of electoral witnesses like Martínez. These precinct-level results show that González won the election with 7.3 million votes (67%) compared to Maduro’s 3.3 million (30%).
González added that “the death of Jesús is not an isolated case; it is proof of a regime that widely and systematically punishes, denies and eliminates those who raise their voice.”
