PERSONAL STORY: Freed Venezuelan prisoner struggles to rebuild life after finding home occupied

A Uruguayan-Venezuelan is trying to rebuild his life after being released from nearly two years in a Venezuelan prison, only to find his home occupied and stripped of his belongings.

Jose Ricardo Breijo told Reuters on Wednesday (May 27) that upon his release he arrived at his Caracas apartment under an alleged house arrest order, to find it padlocked and inaccessible. A neighbour had to let him into the building, only for him to discover he could not enter his own home.

Local media reports he spent nearly two years at the maximum security Tocuyito prison in Carabobo state, on charges including terrorism, criminal association and treason. According to Breijo, the charges stemmed from him photographing a location displaying a Hamas flag.

Breijo says neighbours and friends lent him a box spring mattress, which he set up outside his apartment door, where he waited three days hoping for a prosecutor or official to resolve his situation. He says the standoff ended in the middle of the night, when the man occupying his apartment called him, moved the mattress from the door and handed him back the keys. He says he was also told his house arrest sentence had been lifted and that he no longer needed to report to any court or authority.

Local media reported that around midnight, alleged officials linked to the presidential guard arrived at the Pasquiareli building in Bello Monte and vacated the apartment, with neighbours saying the occupier — described as a serving GOES (Strategic Operations Group) officer — was seen leaving in one of the vehicles.

However, Breijo says he returned to find the apartment completely empty, with not a single plate or fork belonging to him remaining inside. Civil organisations are calling on Venezuela's prosecutor's office to open a criminal investigation into the alleged theft of his belongings, while volunteers mobilised to donate basic household items to him.

Breijo says he now wants to channel his experience into political work alongside other former prisoners, urging politicians to count them among those who endured the hardest times.

The release comes as Venezuela's National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez announced earlier this month that 300 prisoners would be freed over the course of a week, a group set to include police officers, people with medical conditions and those over the age of 70.

Rodriguez did not specify whether those released fall under an amnesty law passed in February. Venezuela's government has consistently denied holding political prisoners, saying those jailed have committed crimes.

Production: Reuters