Caracas Chronicles

Name: Wladimir Leonardo Piñera Brito
Year of Birth: 1992
Date of Detention: July 30, 2024
Location: Sabana Grande, Caracas
Profession: Bread seller and musician

On July 30, 2024, Wladimir Leonardo Piñera and his mother were walking along the Sabana Grande boulevard, in the heart of Caracas, to get something to eat when they suddenly heard gunshots and saw a group of young people being chased by officers of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB). Amid the confusion, some people started running or seeking shelter, and out of fear, Wladimir ran too. He then realized his mother was not next to him and turned back to find her.

His mother had remained still, feeling no need to run. As Piñera walked back towards her, the PNB officers, as identified by his mother, grabbed him forcefully to detain him. A struggle ensued between his mother and the officers over Piñera, during which one of them started choking and immobilizing her, causing her to release her son.

“He was with me. He has done nothing wrong. This is an injustice; they took my son without asking. They snatched him from my hands,” his mother explains to Caracas Chronicles.  After they took him away, a female PNB officer approached his mother and told her to look for her son at the El Recreo police precinct. She waited there, but no one gave her any information about Piñera’s detention until hours later, when she was informed that he had been transferred to Zone 7 temporary jail of the National Police in Boleíta, eastern Caracas.

For nearly four days, Piñera’s family knew nothing about him and waited outside Zone 7 for any information. On August 3, 2024, they finally confirmed Piñera was there and were allowed to bring him food.

From other relatives of detainees, they knew that the last transfer of detained men to the prisons would take place that day, so they still hoped Piñera would be released. However, around 10:00 pm, they learned that the young man was on this last transfer, to Yare 3, an overpopulated prison with huge violence rates. Later, they knew that the transfer took five hours, although Yare 3 is one hour away.  

They had to wait niven more days until they could see it. On August 12, Wladimir had his only visit to date. His mom was able to give him food and drinking water. “When we saw each other we started crying, but I told him that we would get through this. He is in a cell with seven other men, but I am worried because there are reports of other detainees with fever, and some are said to have tuberculosis and scabies. I just want them to release my son because he has done nothing wrong,” she says. 

His relatives describe Wladimir as a calm young man who rarely goes out. Most of the time, he is in his room making music and working on his computer. They often had to argue with him to get him to go out and tend to his shop, where he sells bread and soft drinks, inside their home in Caracas. “The community was shocked because they know he is honest, humble, and quiet. They even helped us collect signatures, and the local community council wrote a letter in his favor”, the mother says.

One month after the arbitrary detention of Piñera, and following recent reports from family members about unnotified transfers to remote prisons like Tocoron and Tocuyito, his family remains uncertain of his whereabouts and of the charges against him. “Morally, we are bewildered. We are very, very sad. Sometimes we sleep well, sometimes we don’t. This is too much to bear, but with God, nothing is impossible.”