The Daily Journal.- Late on the night of Monday, May 26, the human rights organization Foro Penal confirmed the release of eight former military officers considered political prisoners, including former National Guard Brigadier General Ramón Antonio Lozada Saavedra and seven former Army sergeants involved in the so-called “Paratroopers Case.” The servicemen regained their full freedom after remaining behind bars for a period exceeding the prison sentence that was ultimately imposed on them.
Alfredo Romero, president and director of Foro Penal, explained the legal circumstances that led to the release of the group of former sergeants, whose criminal proceedings had been marked by severe judicial delays in Caracas courts.
“An eight-year prison sentence was issued against the group of military personnel. Since they had exceeded the imposed sentence by one year and six months, they were granted full freedom,” Romero explained, noting that the defendants had spent a total of nine years and six months under arbitrary detention.
Nearly a Decade of Irregularities and Torture Allegations
According to case records reconstructed by local media, Jairon Ely Villegas Moreno, Juan Francisco Díaz Castillo, Rubén Augusto Bermúdez Oviedo, Yecson Enrique Lozada Matute, Javier Rafael Peña, Noé Ricardo Romero Lugo, and Feydi Rafael Montero were stationed with the 42nd Paratrooper Brigade in Maracay, Aragua state, when they were arrested on January 18, 2017.
The servicemen were initially summoned to testify at the headquarters of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) in Caracas, where they remained incommunicado for five days. According to testimony from their relatives, authorities staged what appeared to be their formal release in Maracay only to rearrest them under a judicial order issued from Caracas. The group was linked to an alleged constitutional insurrection plot.
According to complaints made by family members, the former military officers were subjected to “torture such as beatings, electric shocks, and isolation” after being linked to an alleged coup attempt reportedly led by generals Raúl Isaías Baduel—former minister under Hugo Chávez who died while in state custody in October 2021—and Ramón Lozada Saavedra.
The judicial process became a bureaucratic maze that included more than 60 postponed hearings, as well as the forced transfer of the case from military criminal jurisdiction to the ordinary civilian justice system, based on the alleged involvement of a civilian individual.
The Release of Former General Lozada Saavedra
At the same time, Foro Penal director Gonzalo Himiob Santomé reported through his information channels the departure from the Palace of Justice of former Brigadier General Ramón Antonio Lozada Saavedra, who had been deprived of liberty on charges of treason and incitement to rebellion since January 21, 2017.
“Brigadier General of the National Guard Ramón Antonio Lozada Saavedra, now a former political prisoner, leaving the Palace of Justice after nearly seven years unjustly deprived of liberty and reuniting with his family. General Lozada suffers from several medical conditions that compromise his health; he should never have been behind bars,” Himiob stated.
Lozada Saavedra had been granted an alternative measure to imprisonment in 2018, which was later revoked by security agencies, forcing him to serve the remainder of his sentence in detention.
