Ramo Verde Prison (officially called National Center for Military Processed of Ramo Verde) is a

military prison A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of ...

in the

Los Teques Los Teques ) is the capital of the state of Miranda and the municipality of Guaicaipuro Municipality. It is located in the capital region of north-central Venezuela. More specifically, southwest of Caracas, 10° 21' 00" N latitude and 67° 02' 3 ...

municipality of Miranda,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. It is a prison known for its strict policies and security measures for prisoners, reserved specifically for military personnel and civilians whose characteristics represent an importance to the Venezuelan state, whether for reasons of safety or policies that may stay in place temporarily or to meet all of their penalties.

Security

Security relies on the Third Division of the

Army of Venezuela The Venezuelan Army, officially the National Army of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Ejército Nacional de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is one of the six professional branches of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Ve ...

and the Operational Area Integral Defense (ZODI) of the capital. Gonzalo Himiob of the Venezuelan Penal stated that Ramo Verde "is the most secure prison in the country by a military character".

Controversies

Ramo Verde has been a point of controversy and criticism due to cases of known personalities held there. According to an NGO called ''Citizen Control for Security'', Ramo Verde is a prison "where prisoners are sort of invisible for the Venezuelan Government and totally unaware of any control mechanism laid down in the Law." Among the people who have been held there include: *The Commanding General Raúl Isaías Baduel, former army commander and former Defense Minister of

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

. *

Carlos Ortega Carlos Alfonso Ortega Carvajal (born c. 1945) is a former union and political leader in Venezuela. Ortega, then head of Fedepetrol, the oil workers union, was elected leader of the Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (CTV) union federati ...

, former president of the Confederation of Workers of Venezuela, who escaped with Darío Farías and Captain Rafael Farias in 2006. *Captain Otto Gebauer, who participated in the events of 11 April 2002. *Commissioners Henry Vivas and Lázaro Forero, former senior officials of the former Metropolitan Police of Caracas, both released in 2011. *

Ivan Simonovis Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...

, former Secretary of Public Safety of the city of Caracas. *General Francisco Usón, released in 2007. *General Ovidio Poggioli, released in 2006. *

Leopoldo López Leopoldo Eduardo López Mendoza (born 29 April 1971) is a Venezuelan opposition leader. He co-founded the political party Primero Justicia in 2000 with Henrique Capriles and Julio Borges and was elected mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Carac ...

, former Mayor of Chacao and leader of

Popular Will Popular Will ( es, Voluntad Popular, abbr. VP) is a political party in Venezuela founded by former Mayor of Chacao, Leopoldo López, who is its national co-ordinator. The party describes itself as progressive and social-democratic and was ad ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramo Verde Prison Military of Venezuela Prisons in Venezuela Torture in Venezuela