Days before the sham presidential elections, Nicolás Maduro’s regime has increased repression against Venezuela’s political opposition, through arbitrary arrests, sabotages and fiery speeches that accuse anti-Chavista opponents of seeking the destruction of the country.
One of the methods most used by the Caracas dictatorship to curb criticism of the regime is the arrest of opposition leaders, who subsequently have to face a judicial system dominated by Maduro’s family members and allies.
After being detained, these figures are coerced by authorities from the Judiciary and the Public Defender’s Office to testify against the opposition leader, Maria Corína Machado, in exchange for freedom, according to complaints made to the portal Infobae by lawyers Joel García and Eduardo Torres in the case of journalism student Jeancarlos Rivas, detained for his political ties to Machado’s party, Vente Venezuela.
According to legal experts, the Terrorism Court does not allow the appointment of private defense attorneys for prisoners in an arbitrary manner. This has been reported in hundreds of cases in military, ordinary and terrorism courts in recent years.
According to the portal, Venezuela’s judiciary is controlled by two key figures: former deputy Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, the country’s first lady, and Diosdado Cabello Rondón, a Chavista deputy in the National Assembly.
The Public Defender’s Office is occupied by the dictator’s sister, María Adelaida Maduro Moros, who has worked in the institution linked to the State for almost 14 years.
Her ex-husband, Ciro Ramón Araújo, held the position of public defender general between 2011 and 2015, while she held several positions, including as director of Public Defense and responsible for the public institution’s Personnel services.
During his time in office, Araújo was accused of corruption scandals and extramarital affairs, which are cited as the reasons for him leaving the country that year.
O Infobae reported that the First Lady of Venezuela has lost influence to Diosdado Cabello in the decisions of the Judiciary in recent times. However, she is still part of a structure that determines who is included as a defendant in the records, which in turn are fabricated by intelligence agencies, such as the Intelligence Service (Sebin), controlled by Cabello through his ally General Gustavo González López.
Rogers Flores, brother-in-law of the dictator Maduro, also worked for years in the Public Defender’s Office, as head of the Human Resources Department. During his time in public office, Flores positioned a network of relatives, including his former brother-in-law, brothers and even nephews of the dictator, who were linked to the Judiciary.
A nephew of Maduro, Irvin Molina Flores, and one of his current wife’s sons, Walter Gavidia Flores, have been appointed as judges.
At the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ), judge Elsa Janeth Gómez Moreno works, who is also the national director of the Juvenile Responsibility Penal System.
Elsa is the aunt of Jenifer Karina Fuentes Gómez de Gavidia, wife of Walter Jacob Gavidia Flores, making Cilia Flores mother-in-law of the young woman and grandmother of the children of Walter Jacob and Jenifer Karina.
Jenifer Fuentes is also an assistant lawyer in the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the TSJ, presided over by her aunt, Judge Elsa Gómez. The young daughter-in-law of Cilia Flores appears in Operation Money Flight, which identified a major case of corruption in the Venezuelan oil company (PDVSA).
Another STJ case involves judge Michel Adriana Velásquez Grillet, of the Constitutional Chamber of the TSJ, who is the wife of Cilia’s nephew, Carlos Erik Malpica Flores.
The NGO Transparency Venezuela investigated her as the main director of the Board of Directors and Hiring Manager of the Pró-Pátria 2000 Foundation, the same one of which Cilia Flores’ son, Walter Jacob Gavidia Flores, was appointed president in 2014.
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