After three years of investigation and waiting, High Risk Judge A, Claudette Domínguez, has made the decision to close the Infiernito case in favor of the former Minister of the Interior, Carlos Vielman, finding no evidence to justify a trial against him.
The Public Ministry had attempted to prosecute Vielman and four other individuals, including the former deputy director of the Civil national policeStu Velasco, for the alleged extrajudicial executions of seven inmates who had escaped from El Infiernito prison in 2005.
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According to Judge Dominguez, the body of evidence presented by the Public Ministry had significant inconsistencies. One piece of evidence, in fact, belonged to a different case, the Pavón case, which is unrelated to the Infiernito case.
In a previous attempt, the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity sought to prosecute Vielman for the crime of extrajudicial execution. However, the defense argued that he had already been tried for this crime previously, thus avoiding a double prosecution. This led to the aforementioned crime being withdrawn and an attempt to be prosecuted solely for torture.
Thanks to Judge Domínguez’s decision, former Minister Vielman was completely exonerated of all charges, ending the legal process against him. Similarly, Velasco was also acquitted, since the judge found no evidence of his involvement in the deaths of the inmates.
However, not all those involved were released. In the case of former police officers Axel Arnoldo Martínez Arreaza, Víctor Manuel Ruiz González and Francisco Guarcas de Paz, the judge determined that there is sufficient evidence to indicate their possible involvement in the deaths of the inmates. As a result, these individuals will face trial for the crime of extrajudicial execution.