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Secret notes from a notorious Venezuelan jail
In a cramped Caracas apartment, Adriana Briceño displays a faded chocolate wrapper bearing a hidden message from her husband, Ángel Godoy, written while he was detained in Venezuela's infamous El Helicoide prison. The note, scribbled in blue ink, reads: "Daddy, take this to sweeten things a little. We love you."
The prison's dark legacy
Originally designed as a luxury shopping center in the 1950s, El Helicoide was never completed. By the 1980s, it had been repurposed by Venezuela's intelligence services, becoming a symbol of state repression. A United Nations investigation confirmed the facility was used to detain and torture individuals arrested arbitrarily or forcibly disappeared under President Nicolás Maduro's government.
Brutal conditions and psychological torment
Godoy, a political prisoner released earlier this year, described the harrowing conditions inside El Helicoide in an interview with the BBC. He recounted enforced isolation, threats against family members, and the agony of being cut off from loved ones. "The torture of not knowing where your family is or how they are-that's the worst part," he said.
Javier Tarazona, a human rights activist detained in July 2021, shared similar experiences. After his arrest, he was placed in a tiny "punishment cell" infested with rats and cockroaches. The cell, known as a "little tiger," was so cramped that inmates had to take turns lying down, using cardboard over a sewer hole as a makeshift mattress. Tarazona and his brother, who was arrested alongside him, endured 46 days in these conditions before being moved to a slightly larger-but equally squalid-cell.
"The first few hours were terrible. The guards used irregular meal times to disorient us, making it impossible to tell day from night."
Javier Tarazona, former political prisoner
Families under pressure
Godoy's wife, Adriana Briceño, faced retaliation after his arrest. She was fired from her 21-year job at a state-run telecoms company without explanation. Fearful for her safety, she moved homes, unsure for weeks where her husband was being held. It took 25 days for authorities to confirm his location at El Helicoide and 96 days before she was allowed regular visits.
Tarazona's family also suffered. During an interrogation, an official showed him a photo of his 70-year-old mother, who had been briefly detained. The officer threatened to imprison her unless Tarazona agreed to record a video accusing other activists of crimes. He refused, and his mother was released hours later.
Denied justice and legal rights
Both Godoy and Tarazona deny the charges against them-terrorism, incitement to hatred, and treason-and claim they were denied proper legal representation. Tarazona, who spent 1,675 days in detention, saw a court-appointed lawyer fewer than five times. Godoy, held for over a year, never saw his case file or knew who his defense lawyer was.
The BBC reached out to Venezuela's attorney general, ministry of information, and ministry of defense for comment on these allegations but received no response by publication.
A glimmer of hope amid trauma
Despite the ordeal, Tarazona found solace in writing. When guards discovered his letters and a book, he was punished with isolation. "I found light in that pain," he said. "It became an opportunity to reflect and work on forgiveness."
Godoy echoed this sentiment, urging Venezuelans to prioritize national healing over resentment. "After all that cruelty, it seems unbelievable that I'm asking my fellow prisoners to let go of hatred," he said. "Let's build a better Venezuela without bitterness."
Messages of love and resistance
For families of prisoners, small acts of defiance kept hope alive. Briceño and Godoy exchanged secret notes-on chocolate wrappers, scraps of paper, or even laundry. "These messages were a bridge between prisoners and their families," Godoy explained. One of his replies, scrawled on a T-shirt, read: "Adriana, you are the most beautiful woman in the world." To his son, he wrote: "Go and excel in your classes, okay?"
El Helicoide's uncertain future
In January, Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced plans to convert El Helicoide into a social, sports, and cultural center for police families. While the release of prisoners has been welcomed, rights groups warn the move may be an attempt to erase the facility's dark history.
For survivors like Godoy and Tarazona, the focus remains on reconciliation. "Let the country's interests come first," Godoy said. "Let's move forward without hatred to build that wonderful Venezuela."
