Why do I decide to return to Venezuela now after having been imprisoned in El Helicoide and spending 12 years in exile?

Why did I decide to return to Venezuela now after being imprisoned in El Helicoide and spending 12 years in exile? After months of what he calls "persecution," Rodrigo Diamanti was arrested at the international airport of Maiquetía in 2014 when he was trying to leave the Venezuela of Nicolás Maduro. More than a decade later, he has decided to return, taking advantage of what he describes as an uncertain "window" since the United States captured Maduro in January, accused of drug trafficking, corruption, and torture of American citizens, charges that the former president denies. Diamanti admits that he returns aware of the risks. "The repressive apparatus is still intact. It is not as active as before, but they can use it when they need it," he said in a recent interview with BBC Mundo. Activist and human rights defender, Diamanti recalls that he attended his first protest in 2001, just two years after the arrival of Hugo Chávez, the promoter of the Bolivarian revolution, who was then followed by Maduro. "At that protest they threw tear gas bombs and rubber bullets at us. Since that day I never stopped protesting." In 2009, Diamanti founded Un Mundo Sin Mordaza (UMSM), an organization that documents and denounces attacks on freedom of expression in Venezuela. In 2014, a wave of protests against the Maduro government shook Venezuela. He claims that the demonstrations and repression that followed marked a before and after in the country. "We began to see a significant number of deaths in the protests, something that had not occurred in the recent history of Venezuela." The official tally of the protests was 43 deaths, 486 injuries, and 1,854 detentions, according to the Attorney General's Office of Venezuela. The organization Foro Penal assures that there were dozens of torture cases. In this context, his organization promoted the international campaign SOS Venezuela, which sought to highlight the situation in the country and encouraged a wave of protests against Maduro in a large number of cities around the world. Diamanti affirms that the Venezuelan government's response, which labeled the demonstrators as "coup plotters," was immediate. "They stormed the organization's headquarters. They came to look for me at my house and other places I frequented. I hid for several days, but since I had no exit ban, I decided to go to the airport. That's where they arrested me," he recounts. He ended up in the dreaded Helicoide prison, in downtown Caracas. A prison he knew well, as he had visited several times to accompany political prisoners. This time, he was on the other side. A clandestine escape After being held for two days, Diamanti left El Helicoide under precautionary measures. But he assures that the pressure did not end. A few months after his arrest, he claims that he was kidnapped for several hours. "I was almost five hours with a gun to my head in a car," he recounts. He adds that, after investigation, he received information pointing to the involvement of security forces linked to the Maduro government. It was then that he decided to leave the country clandestinely. He crossed the border into Colombia without a passport, with the help of his ex-partner. "It was a very dangerous situation," he recalls. He lived for several days in a refugee center in Cúcuta. "Without a passport I couldn't stay in a hotel," he points out. They gave him a travel document and traveled to Bogotá. There he began the process of obtaining an Italian passport and then redoing his life in the United States. "I think I was one of the first of my generation to go into exile. Then it became common," he points out. He adds that many of his comrades went through the same thing. They were imprisoned, persecuted, and then had to leave the country. Reclaiming Space Twelve years later, Diamanti says that his return is due to a personal decision, "with the idea of resuming the work of Un Mundo Sin Mordaza, which had stopped after a large part of the team had to leave the country," he explains. "I believe that Venezuela needs activists to reclaim their spaces. We are in a situation that, compared to last year's, is almost miraculous. Before there was practically no possibility for a leader to go out into the streets." Diamanti's return occurs at a time of changes in the country, in which the government of Delcy Rodríguez, successor to Maduro, has authorized the release of a significant number of prisoners and has shown signs of political flexibility. In this context, figures such as former deputy Yon Goicoechea, former mayor Carlos Ocariz, and María Corina Machado's communications head, Claudia Macero, have decided to return to the country after time in exile. Some activists warn, however, that the opening is still limited and that repression has only become less visible. According to the latest data from Foro Penal published at the end of September, at least 324 people remain detained for political reasons in Venezuela. So, the risks persist. The Minister of Interior, Justice, and Peace, Diosdado Cabello, named Diamanti during the broadcast of his program "Con el Mazo Dando" on September 30th. He questioned his work and independence and linked him, along with his organization, to alleged plans of violence and destabilization in Venezuela. "Diosdado Cabello held me responsible for mobilizations that I did not call," he tells BBC Mundo. "With Con el Mazo Dando, it is a space used to stigmatize human rights defenders, blame them, and attribute facts to them," he denounces. "These accusations worry me, because that program has been pointed to as a precursor to arrests." According to a report by Amnesty International published in 2022, between 2019 and 2021 there was a 65% correlation between the stigmatizations made by the program "Con El Mazo Dando" and the intervention of military courts in Venezuela, "especially when the military security forces carried out the arbitrary arrests." In 2020, the correlation reached 94%. BBC Mundo contacted the Ministry of Interior and the program "Con el Mazo Dando" to request comments on these accusations but received no response. "They have tried to maintain their structure of control." Diamanti recounts that upon his recent arrival in the country, he was detained for an hour at the Maiquetía airport and still faces administrative restrictions. "I cannot process my passport, which complicates my exit from the country," he points out. Although he acknowledges changes that have allowed him to return, Diamanti maintains that, in essence, little has changed in Venezuela. "Most of the people responsible for the crimes against humanity committed since 2014 still hold the same positions," he points out. The UN has documented violations committed in Venezuela since 2014, including acts that could constitute crimes against humanity. It has also pointed to the participation of different security forces and the responsibility of high officials in the government. For his part, the International Criminal Court (ICC) maintains an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed in the country since at least 2014. The ICC has suggested that the investigations carried out in Venezuela have been insufficient and that high officials have not been investigated. The Venezuelan government rejects these accusations and maintains that both the ICC investigation and the UN reports have political motives. In Diamanti's view, the authorities are trying to maintain control and prevent Venezuelans from feeling they have the freedom to protest or express themselves openly. "They have tried to maintain their structure of control, not only physical but also psychological. They make partial reforms to show that they are still in power," he affirms. Diamanti considers that there is an unprecedented level of consensus in Venezuelan society in favor of change and believes that the country is going through a transition, although he warns that the process could be prolonged. He is also critical of possible delays in the presidential elections, warning that they could increase frustration and migration. "The idea that the elections should be held after the parliamentary, regional, and municipal ones is completely unacceptable. That would delay the transition," he says. Ten months after Maduro's capture, the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez has not yet set a deadline for holding elections, and the United States continues to tighten its ties with it and recognizes its authority. Although Washington has said that its goal is a transition to a democratically elected government, President Donald Trump has suggested that Venezuela is still not ready to hold elections. Meanwhile, calls to set a date are increasing within the country. Many look with suspicion at Washington's support for a government that Venezuelans did not elect, and some fear that the so-called transition may be prolonged indefinitely. Given the influence the United States currently exerts over Venezuela, everything seems to indicate that the decision about when the country will hold elections will depend largely on the will of Washington and President Trump. Diamanti is already fighting for this from within his country. "After 10 years [abroad] I understood that this does not end until Venezuela is free."