Venezuelan Wives'' 64-Day Protest for Detained Husbands Reflects Post-Intervention Tensions
Introduction
Two women, Mileidy Mendoza and Sandra Rosales, were part of a group of about 30 wives and mothers who held a 64-day sit-in protest outside a police station in Caracas, Venezuela. The protest started after the U.S. military operation that removed President Nicolás Maduro on January 3. The women wanted the release of their husbands and other detainees that human rights groups call political prisoners. The government announced a prisoner release program, but many detainees remained in jail. The women''s efforts led to the release of 42 people, but not their own husbands.
Main Body
The protest began after the U.S. military operation on January 3, which resulted in Maduro''s capture and replacement by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a loyalist of the ruling party. On January 8, under pressure from the Trump administration, the Venezuelan government declared its intention to release a large number of prisoners as part of a peace initiative. After that, dozens of women, including Mendoza and Rosales, gathered outside detention facilities expecting to reunite with their loved ones. When releases did not happen, they set up a tent city on Calle Mara, a dead-end street in Caracas, and refused to leave. Mendoza and Rosales had no previous political activity. Mendoza, a stay-at-home mother who sold handmade items, learned of her husband Eric Díaz''s arrest in November 2024 through a friend. He was accused of being part of a bomb plot that the U.S. and a faction of the opposition supposedly supported. Rosales, an elementary school teacher, discovered her husband Dionnys Quintero had been arrested the same month on similar charges. Both women reported that authorities denied their husbands phone calls and at first refused to say they were holding them. The government did not respond to requests for comment on the specific cases. The protest tested the women''s health and determination. They chanted, used social media campaigns, and went on a hunger strike that lasted up to five days for some participants. The government allowed a visit on January 27, during which the women saw that the prisoners looked pale and had lost weight. The visit did not reduce their demands; instead, they increased their efforts by meeting with lawmakers, filing court paperwork, and holding vigils. On February 14 and March 6–7, authorities released 17 and 25 prisoners respectively, but Mendoza''s and Rosales''s husbands were not among them. Human rights groups criticized the government for selective releases, noting that more than 400 political prisoners were still in jail. The government''s press office did not explain its reasons for release. The women later learned their husbands had been transferred to a more restrictive prison outside Caracas. On March 13, after 64 days, they took down the camp. They continued their campaign from home, and on April 5 (Easter), they were allowed a second visit, this time with their children. The visit lasted four hours and focused on family matters; the women promised their husbands they would keep trying to free them.
Conclusion
The protest ended without freeing Mendoza''s and Rosales''s husbands, but the women have not stopped their efforts. They are still looking for other ways to secure their husbands'' freedom. This event shows the complicated political situation in Venezuela after the intervention, where the government says it wants to release prisoners but only does so selectively, and many political prisoners remain in jail.