Arya News - A Venezuelan opposition leader whom United States says was arbitrarily detained has died in prison, according to human rights advocates and his political colleagues and party.
Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A Venezuelan opposition leader whom United States says was arbitrarily detained has died in prison, according to human rights advocates and his political colleagues and party.
Alfredo Diaz, the former governor of the Nueva Esparta state and leader of the opposition Accion Democratica party, died Saturday at the infamous headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service in El Helioide, Venezuelan activist and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said in a statement .
The Ministry of Penitentiary Services said Diaz died of a heart attack, according to local reports .
At about 6:33 a.m. local time, Diaz reported "symptoms compatible with a myocardial infarction" and was taken for emergency care. He died minutes after being admitted to the University Hospital of Caracas, according to the ministry statement.
Gonzalo Himiob Santome, a Venezuelan lawyer and founding member of the non-governmental Foro Penal organization, confirmed on X that Diaz"s family had been notified of his death.
Under the United Nations" Minnesota Protocol , an authoritative investigative standard for examining potentially unlawful deaths, Diaz"s death may be illegal, Himiob said, "that must be investigated in an objective and impartial manner."
Diaz"s Accion Democratica political party is demanding a "thorough independent and transparent investigation" be conducted."
According to Human Rights Watch , the 56-year-old was detained Nov. 24, 2024. SEBIN officers removed him from a bus heading for Colombia. He was charged with incitement to hatred, financing of terrorism and criminal association offenses.
Accion Democratica said he was denied due process and held under conditions that were a violation of his fundamental rights. Human Rights Watch said Diaz was been denied all visitors and calls during his detainment, though Alfredo Romero, president of Foro Penal, said he was allowed one visit during his year in prison: that of his daughter.
"It"s outrageous!" Romero said. "The state is responsible for the health of the person under its custody."
According to Machado, Diaz is the seventh political prisoner to die in Venezuelan custody since July 28, 2024.
"The circumstances surrounding these deaths -- including denial of medical care, inhuman conditions, isolation, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment -- reveal a sustained pattern of state repression," the Nobel Peace Prize winner said.
"Therefore, this cannot be treated as an ordinary death -- it is a crime for which the regime bears full responsibility."
Diaz died amid mounting tensions in the region.
A U.S. military buildup near Venezuela has raised fears of a U.S. mainland assault targeting the regime of President Nicolas Maduro, a foe of U.S. President Donald Trump since his first term.
Trump reportedly spoke to Maduro late last month, offering the authoritarian leader an ultimatum that involved him resigning. Maduro reportedly responded by demanding amnesty.
In a brief statement Sunday, the United States blamed Venezuela for Diaz"s death.
"The death of Venezuelan political prisoner Alfredo Diaz, who was arbitrarily detained in the Maduro"s torture center of El Helicoide, is yet another reminder of the vile nature of the criminal Maduro regime," the U.S. State Department"s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said.