The President of the United States, Donald Trump, sparked a new wave of controversy this Tuesday by once again referring to the ousted Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro, labeling him as "violent" and accusing his regime of having a "torture chamber in the heart of Caracas."
During a speech before Republican lawmakers at the Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington, the Republican leader stated that Maduro "is a violent guy who has killed millions of people."
"They have a torture chamber in the center of Caracas that they are closing," added the leader, in what was one of the most shared passages on social media this Tuesday.
The excerpt has circulated widely on social media, where users have highlighted its words as a summary of an increasingly tough and emotional rhetoric coming from the White House.
Before his party's lawmakers, Trump defended the U.S. military operation that led to the capture and transport of Maduro to New York to face federal charges.
In his speech, he also mockingly referred to aspects such as the personality of the former president, even mentioning that he tried to "imitate his dance moves."
Political analysts point out that episodes like this are not isolated within Trump's rhetoric, whose style has shown a considerable increase in the use of violent and inflammatory language in his speeches over the past few years, even when the facts do not always reflect the terms expressed.
The Helicoid: From Architectural Dream to Symbol of Terror
When Trump spoke of a "torture chamber in the heart of Caracas," many interpreted his words as an indirect reference to El Helicoide, an iconic building turned into the most feared emblem of the Venezuelan repressive apparatus.
Designed in the 1950s as an innovative spiral-shaped shopping center, El Helicoide was abandoned during the economic crisis of the 1960s and later occupied by state security forces.
Since the years of Hugo Chávez and especially under Maduro, the building has transformed into the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and a detention center for political prisoners, activists, and journalists.
Reports from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have repeatedly documented cases of torture, beatings, electric shocks, sexual threats, sleep deprivation, and prolonged solitary confinement within the facility.
In its 2020 report, the UN described these abuses as "crimes against humanity," holding senior officials of SEBIN and the Venezuelan state itself directly accountable.
Former prisoners have described the place as "a nightmare within a concrete spiral," where detainees spend months or even years without access to natural light or medical care. The conditions are unsanitary, with overcrowded cells, leaks, insects, and extreme temperatures.
Paradoxically, the building—visible from several points in Caracas—operates in plain sight of the power, just a few kilometers from the Palacio de Miraflores. Its presence encapsulates the transformation of Venezuela: from a country that dreamed of modernity and progress to a police state where fear and repression have become institutionalized.
Filed under:
