Carmen Teresa Navas, mother of the Venezuelan political prisoner Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, passed away this Sunday, May 18, just a few days after burying her son, whose death in the custody of the Venezuelan state was officially confirmed last week.
The information was confirmed by human rights organizations and people close to the family, who accompanied the search for the Venezuelan citizen for months.
The organization Foro Penal publicly mourned Navas’s passing and highlighted her persistence in seeking information about her son.
“Her fortitude, her dignity, and her perseverance in the face of silence and uncertainty were examples of the strength of the mothers and families of the victims in Venezuela,” the organization expressed in a statement.
Víctor Hugo Quero, 50 years old, had been detained since January 3, 2025, at the Rodeo I Penitentiary Center. On May 7, Venezuelan authorities officially confirmed his death, indicating that he had died on July 24, 2025, months after his imprisonment.
Reports of silence and uncertainty
For months, Carmen Teresa Navas traveled thru prisons, participated in protests, and went to state institutions to request information about her son’s whereabouts.
“Let them give me proof of my son, where do they have him?” If he is alive… because since they arrested him, I haven’t seen him even once,” the woman declared on May 4 during a protest in Plaza Altamira, in Caracas.
Navas maintained that his son, a merchant and the main economic support of the household, was innocent of the terrorism charges against him.
“For a mother, it is too difficult to be denied where her son is,” she expressed in one of her public statements.
Investigation into Death in Custody
After the confirmation of Quero’s death, the authorities carried out the exhumation of the body for identification procedures.
Subsequently, the remains were transferred and finally buried by their family members.
The deceased’s mother had requested DNA tests to fully confirm the identity of the body and clarify the circumstances of the death.
Venezuelan authorities reported that a criminal investigation has been opened to determine responsibilities and understand the causes of the death while in state custody.
Reactions from organizations and opposition leaders
Various human rights organizations and opposition figures reacted to the passing of Carmen Teresa Navas.
The opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa stated on social media: “For a year, they cynically mocked the pain of a mother searching for her son in the jails of the dictatorship.”
For its part, Foro Penal concluded its message by stating: “She is already with her beloved son again.”
(Note created with the help of AI and information from the Web)
