Venezuelan activist Aranza Hernández freed after alleged DGCIM torture

Aranza Hernández, a 20‑year‑old Venezuelan political detainee, was released on 13 January 2026 after being held by the Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar (DGCIM) since November 2025. During her detention she reported physical and psychological torture, including being hooded, confined in a small cell that aggravated her asthma, and forced to breathe with a covered face. She spent the first 15 days in the DGCIM basement in Boleíta before being transferred to the women’s prison Las Crisálidas.

In an interview she said, “Si no hubiese caído el presidente, todavía siguiera en las manos de la Dgcim,” linking her release to recent political changes in Venezuela. Hernández now faces a reporting regime requiring her to present herself every 30 days and calls for the release of other political prisoners, including family members who remain detained.

Her family—sister Samantha, uncle Henry Castillo, cousin Ariel Camargo and others—were also arrested solely for being relatives of Lieutenant Cristian Hernández, a military officer now living in exile in the United States. Hernández highlighted the broader persecution of women and foreigners, naming several detained judges and Ecuadorian citizens.