Prominent Venezuelan human rights activist went missing on January 7
Originally published on Global Voices
Carlos Correa, prominent human rights defender. Image by Espacio Público via Flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
How can we preserve freedom of expression in Venezuela? Thanks to the tireless work of the Venezuelan NGO Espacio Público and its director, Carlos Correa, we have two decades of solid data to answer this question. Correa, a journalist and scholar, has dedicated more than 25 years to defending human rights in Venezuela and the Americas.
However, Correa is, at the time of writing, missing. His whereabouts are completely unknown since about 5 p.m. on January 7, Venezuelan time. “He was intercepted in the center of Caracas by hooded men who claimed to be officials,” according to witnesses quoted in a press release by Espacio Público.
As director of Espacio Público, Correa has participated in over 30 hearings before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and other international bodies to denounce the violations of fundamental rights in Venezuela. He has faced harassment, threats, and physical assaults due to his advocacy work throughout his career.
“We've combed the places we know [Ed: detention centers in Caracas] and have not found him,” said his wife, Mabel Calderín, who is also a well-respected faculty member at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas. “I need to know where he is. Carlos has special health conditions that require permanent treatment (….) and has committed no crime. He has dedicated his life to this: the defense of human rights of everyone, no matter their ideology.”
Calderín spoke to the Venezuelan televised press on January 8:
Local and international NGOs, and even the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, denounced Correa's forced disappearance:
Igual que nuestro amigo Enrique Márquez, destacado progresista venezolano, ha sido detenido Carlos Correa, destacado defensor de derechos humanos en Venezuela. Esto, y otros hechos, impide mi asistencia personal al acto de posesión de Nicolás Maduro.
La solicitud de Colombia no… https://t.co/adAA51R8VL
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 8, 2025
Just like our friend Enrique Márquez, a prominent Venezuelan progressive, Carlos Correa, a prominent defender of human rights in Venezuela, has been arrested. This, and other events, prevent my personal attendance at the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro.
Colombia's request was not attended to in the sense of maximum transparency in the last elections when such a possibility was raised in various political meeting spaces to which we were invited. In Europe, Venezuela, and the USA.
The last elections in Venezuela were not free. There are no free elections under blockades. (…)
Social media users are using the #DóndeEstáCarlosCorrea (Where is Carlos Correa?) and #LiberenaCarlosCorrea (Free Carlos Correa) hashtags. There has been no official word from the government about the case so far. Correa's case joins more than 18 political detentions before the presidential inauguration on January 10.
Correa supported Venezuelan Global Voices members throughout the years. Luis Carlos Díaz, a journalist and digital activist who was subject to a forced disappearance by Venezuelan security forces in 2019, calls Correa a “personal hero.”
Correa was among the human rights activists who strongly advocated for Díaz's release.
Apresaron a Carlos Correa, un héroe personal, un defensor de derechos humanos que lleva más de 20 años especializado en libertad de expresión. Ha sido director de radio, coordinó Provea y armó luego Espacio Público.
Carlos es un pilar de los DDHH en Venezuela.
Nos da fuerzas. https://t.co/xAPwIPXXdn— Luis Carlos One Piece (@LuisCarlos) January 8, 2025
Carlos Correa, a personal hero, was arrested. He is a human rights defender who has been specializing in freedom of expression for more than 20 years. He has been a radio director, coordinated Provea and later created Espacio Público.
Carlos is a pillar of human rights in Venezuela.
He gives us strength.
Marianne Díaz Hernández is a lawyer who specializes in digital rights. She calls Correa a “reference” for her work of 15 years in human rights and, also, a friend.
She carries his advice close to her heart:
Siempre que me dan ganas de tirar la toalla, recuerdo las palabras de Carlos, que siempre me dice: ejercitamos el músculo democrático para que no se atrofie, para el día en que podamos usarlo de nuevo. Y sigo adelante, porque hay que recordar cómo se hace la democracia.
Whenever I want to quit, I remember Carlos's words, he always told me: we exercise our democratic muscle so it that it does not atrophy, so that we can use it again when we need it. And I keep going, because we must remember how democracy is built.
