Juan Freites
| Juan Freites | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Script error: The function "langx" does not exist. |
| Born | c. 1991 |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Venezuelan |
| 🎓 Alma mater | |
| 💼 Occupation |
|
| 🏛️ Political party | Vente Venezuela |
| 👴 👵 Parent(s) |
|
Juan José Freites Cabrejos (c. 1991)[1] is a Venezuelan politician and economist. He served as regional coordinator of the opposition party Vente Venezuela in La Guaira state and led María Corina Machado's 2024 presidential campaign in that state. He was arrested by Venezuelan security forces on 23 January 2024 and held incommunicado for some 27 days before being located at El Helicoide detention centre in Caracas. He was released on 22 February 2026 after more than two years in custody.[2]
Education
Freites trained as an economist at the Universidad Alejandro de Humboldt and later took a postgraduate degree in strategic planning and political analysis at the Catholic University of Andrés Bello (UCAB).[3]
Arrest and detention
By the time of his arrest Freites had been a member of Vente Venezuela for six years, serving as its training coordinator in La Guaira before being appointed regional coordinator and campaign manager for María Corina Machado's presidential bid in the state. According to opposition sources, security officers took him from his home in La Guaira on 23 January 2024 and his whereabouts were not disclosed. Two other Vente Venezuela coordinators—Luis Camacaro in Yaracuy and Guillermo López in Trujillo—were detained the same day.[3][4][5]
On 25 January 2024, Camacaro and Freites were brought before the Caracas Palace of Justice. According to media reports, more than thirty officers of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) cleared the building of the defendants' private lawyers and relatives, and the initial hearing went ahead with court-appointed counsel.[6][7]
Reactions
Vente Venezuela rejected the accusations and called for the immediate release of its coordinators.[3][8] Machado said the arrests violated the 2023 Barbados Agreement between the government and the opposition.[9]
Freites's lawyers wrote to the United Nations, the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asking for an investigation. On 31 January 2024 they filed a brief with the Defensoría del Pueblo seeking "the defence of the constitutional and procedural rights of these persons".[8] On 16 February they reported that the coordinators had been held for 25 days without their place of detention being disclosed.[10] Relatives and counsel visited several detention centres without obtaining confirmation; after 27 days—in what Vente Venezuela described as a forced disappearance—Freites was located at El Helicoide.[11][12]
See also
- Political prisoners during the Bolivarian Revolution
- Forced disappearance
- Vente Venezuela
- El Helicoide
- Foro Penal
References
- ↑ "El chavismo acusó a tres jefes de campaña de María Corina Machado de estar vinculados en las supuestas conspiraciones". Infobae (in español). 26 January 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ↑ "Confirman la excarcelación de Juan Freites, líder del Comando Con Vzla en el estado de Vargas, preso hace más de 730 días". Ecoportal (in español). 22 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Guillermo López, Luis Camacaro y Juan Freites: los tres coordinadores de Vente Venezuela detenidos". El Pitazo (in español). 24 January 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ↑ "La dictadura de Maduro detuvo al dirigente opositor Luis Camacaro". Infobae (in español). 23 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ↑ ""Está secuestrado desde el #23Ene": Esposa de dirigente de Vente Venezuela exige saber de su paradero". Runrunes (in español). 1 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ↑ "Los jefes de campaña de Vente Venezuela detenidos por el régimen fueron presentados ante la Justicia sin sus abogados". Infobae (in español). 26 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ↑ "Luis Camacaro y Juan Freites, fueron presentados en el Palacio de Justicia de Caracas". La Patilla (in español). 26 January 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "La oposición venezolana denunció la desaparición forzada de tres jefes de campaña de María Corina Machado". Infobae (in español). 1 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ↑ "María Corina Machado denuncia vandalismo y arresto de dos militantes en Venezuela". El Comercio (in español). AFP. 23 January 2024. ISSN 1605-3052. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ↑ Aulino, Carmenmilagro (16 February 2024). "Vente Venezuela denuncia 25 días de desaparición de Juan Freites, Luis Camacaro y Guillermo López". El Impulso (in español). Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ↑ "Denuncian que Juan Freites, Luis Camacaro y Guillermo López cumplen un año en El Helicoide". La Verdad (in español). 23 January 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ↑ "Luis Camacaro: un año preso, enfermo y sin juicio en El Helicoide". El Pitazo (in español). 23 January 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
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