What should Venezuela do with El Helicoide, the notorious prison? : NPR
NPR • • world
Key Points:
- Jesús Armas, a former prisoner held for 14 months in El Helicoide, described the prison's harsh conditions, including constant artificial lighting and prolonged isolation, which contributed to anxiety and paranoia.
- El Helicoide, originally designed as a futuristic shopping mall in the 1950s, was never completed and later repurposed in the 1980s as a notorious prison and torture site under Venezuela's intelligence police.
- As Venezuela transitions toward democracy, acting president Delcy Rodríguez has proposed converting El Helicoide into a sports complex for police and local residents, a plan opposed by activists who want the site preserved as a museum or memorial.
- Human rights activists, including Javier Tarazona, have called for El Helico
