This archive report was first published on 1 July 2019.
On July 1, 2019, Venezuelan authorities confirmed the death of navy captain Rafael Acosta, who opposition leaders and family members alleged was tortured in custody after his detention over alleged involvement in a coup plot against President Nicolas Maduro.
Acosta's death came on the heels of a visit by the United Nation's human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to investigate rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.
Chief prosecutor Tarek Saab announced an investigation into the incident, but did not disclose the cause of death.
Acosta's wife, Waleska Perez, stated that her husband was beaten and tortured, and was barely conscious in a court hearing on Friday. He was then transferred to a military health center.
“They tortured him so much that they killed him,” Perez said in an interview with EVTV Miami, broadcast over Instagram.
President Nicolas Maduro had previously accused military officers, with the support of opposition politicians and foreign leaders, of plotting to overthrow his government.
Maduro's administration has overseen a devastating economic collapse in Venezuela, and he blames the country's problems on sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency in January, stated that Acosta was murdered and that it was further evidence that Maduro's allies refuse to heed demands for a change of government.
“Do they not hear? From the grave, from basements where people are being tortured, the people (are calling for) a change,” said Guaido in remarks broadcast over the internet.
