New political prisoner: The Maduro regime kidnaps a Venezuelan activist for his messages on “X”

Last Wednesday, in the State of Carabobo, about 170 kilometers southeast of Caracas, Venezuelan activist Nelson Piñera, belonging to the opposition political group Encuentro Ciudadano, was kidnapped by officials from SEBIN, the police of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Delsa Solorzano, the president of the Encuentro Ciudadano party and former candidate in the opposition presidential primary, claimed that the reason behind Piñera's arrest was because the activist published criticism against the Maduro regime on the social media platform "X."

In a statement, Solorzano stated that the First Court of Control of the State of Carabobo announced a custodial measure alleging that Piñera "writes on Twitter [now called X] critically, against the national government and against the local government."

"Evidently, the exercise of freedom of expression is being condemned here, writing on social media is not a crime, giving an opinion is not a crime and today a custodial measure has just been issued simply for expressing your opinion on social media," said the president of Encuentro Ciudadano.

Meanwhile, Piñera's profile on X, whose user name is @Nelsonpvzla1, is being used by his relatives to report Piñera's current situation. He is being held at the SEBIN headquarters in Naguanagua, Carabobo.

SEBIN has been accused through numerous reports by human rights activists and organizations of carrying out torture and crimes against humanity.

Nelson Piñero's sister, Esperanza Piñero, appeared this Saturday with Solorzano before the media and assured that SEBIN agents are not allowing her to deliver her brother food, water and clothing.

Piñero's arrest comes weeks after the Biden Administration temporarily lifted sanctions against the Maduro regime in the oil, gas and gold sectors. Likewise, it arises when Canada, according to a Bloomberg report, seeks to reestablish relations with the socialist dictatorship.

In Venezuela, imprisonment for publishing criticism on social media has been systematically occurring since 2017, when the "Law against Hate, for Peaceful Coexistence and Tolerance" was enacted. It is a decree of the Constituent Assembly, a government body fully integrated by Maduro's allies.