Statement Demanding the Immediate Release of Jesús Armas (FFSF 2022, Venezuela)
Statement Demanding the Immediate Release of Jesús Armas (FFSF 2022, Venezuela)
A joint statement from the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy program (MIP) at Stanford University.
With deep concern and sorrow, we are reflecting on the seven-month anniversary of the arbitrary detention of Venezuelan activist and human rights defender Jesús Armas, a 2022 Fisher Family Summer Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and a recently admitted student to Stanford’s Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy program (MIP).
Jesús is a dedicated public servant, engineer, and civic leader who has devoted his life to advancing democratic values, improving public services, and defending the dignity of the Venezuelan people. As president of the NGO Ciudadanía Sin Límites, he has implemented impactful initiatives to improve water access, energy policy, and transparency in Caracas’s most vulnerable communities. As a key organizer of María Corina Machado's and Edmundo González's July 28, 2024, presidential campaign, Jesús played a central role in promoting peaceful democratic participation and civic unity in the capital.
On December 10, 2024, Jesús was forcibly disappeared and detained in Venezuela by security forces. During his disappearance, he was subjected to torture, including mechanical asphyxiation and prolonged restraint. He is currently being held in El Helicoide, infamously known as one of Latin America’s most notorious political prisons. For seven months, Jesús has been held in complete isolation and incommunicado, denied access to his family, legal representation, and basic rights — a treatment that amounts to cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment and a clear violation of international human rights law. On December 31, 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures in favor of Jesús Armas, recognizing the serious and urgent risk to his life and personal integrity. The IACHR called on the Venezuelan authorities to protect his rights and ensure his well-being, yet no meaningful action has been taken to comply with these measures.
On behalf of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy program at Stanford University, we call for the immediate and unconditional release of Jesús Armas. We urge the international community, human rights organizations, and democratic governments to raise their voices in support of Jesús and to condemn the escalating pattern of repression and torture against peaceful democratic actors in Venezuela.
Jesús belongs not in a prison cell, but in a classroom, preparing to contribute to a freer, more just, and more democratic future for Venezuela and the world.
Signed,
Kathryn Stoner
Mosbacher Director and Senior Fellow,
Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law,
Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies,
Professor of Political Science & Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution (both by courtesy),
Stanford University
Francis Fukuyama
Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Director, Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy
Research Affiliate, The Europe Center
Professor by Courtesy, Department of Political Science
Stanford University