Yon Alexander Goicoechea Lara (born 8 November 1984) is a
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 ...
n lawyer, activist and organizer. He emerged as one of the leaders behind the
Venezuelan Student Movement, which formed as a result of actions by Hugo Chavez' to amass further power as the country's president. He holds degrees from the
Andrés Bello Catholic University
Andrés Bello Catholic University also known in Spanish as Universidad Católica Andrés Bello is a private university in Venezuela. One of the largest universities in Venezuela, UCAB has campuses in several cities, such as Caracas (where the mai ...
and
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
Milton Friedman Prize
In 2008, the
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
awarded Goicoechea the
Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
which comes with an award of $500,000. At the time, Peruvian novelist
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...
called Goicoechea, "a symbol of… democratic reaction when freedom is threatened." After receiving the Prize, Goicoechea experienced harassment in Venezuela, and state-run television depicted him as a cartoon clutching wards of cash stamped with the words "Made in USA."
As a result of his activism, he experienced death threats, which led him to move between various friends' homes to stay safe. President Chávez called the Goicoechea-led student movement, a "fascist attack." In 2013, Goicochea decided to leave Venezuela with his family.
Return to Venezuela
After a period abroad, working and studying in the USA and Spain, Goicoechea returned to Venezuela in 2016 to rejoin the political arena. In an interview on June 26, Goicoechea explained that his return was marked by a renewed enthusiasm for the future of Venezuela. After leaving the
Primero Justicia
The Justice First ( es, Primero Justicia) is a centre-right political party in Venezuela. Founded in 1992 as a civil association, it became a political party in 2000. Henrique Capriles was the candidate of the party in 2013 general election.
...
political party, Goicoechea joined another opposition organization,
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 ...
, and campaigned for the
recall referendum
A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of off ...
against president
Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
.
Detention
On August 29, 2016 Goicoechea was detained while driving in La Trinidad, a neighborhood of Caracas. Witnesses indicated that the
Bolivarian Intelligence Service
The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service ( es, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 201 ...
(SEBIN) was responsible for his detention, but
PSUV
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela ( es, Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left Socialism, socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since ...
vice president and National Assembly deputy
Diosdado Cabello
Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela
, atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...
later acknowledged his detention during a government rally. Cabello stated that Goicoechea had been arrested with "explosives and detonators". For two days no news were heard of his whereabouts raising concerns of his spouse, fellow party members and
Human Rights Foundation
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting and protecting human rights globally, with an emphasis on closed societies. HRF organizes the Oslo Freedom Forum. The Human Rights Foundation was founded in ...
. On August 31, 2016 and after his lawyer, Nizar El Fakih, filed a lawsuit for unlawful detention and imprisonment, Goicoechea was taken to an arraignment court in Caracas. On arraignment, his lawyer stated his detention was not only irregularly executed, but that the charges being raised against Goicoechea had no basis of evidence. During the preliminary hearing on Friday September 2, 2016, an arraignment judge ordered that Goicoechea should remain under police custody without bail. After hearing the charges and pleading not guilty, Goicoechea expressed his commitment to both democracy and a non-violent struggle for a better future in Venezuela. He was paroled in October, and later wrote about his experiences in an editorial for ''The New York Times.''
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goicoechea, Yon
1984 births
Living people
Venezuelan democracy activists
People from Caracas
Andrés Bello Catholic University alumni
Venezuelan people of Basque descent
Venezuelan people of Cuban descent
Venezuelan anti-communists
21st-century Venezuelan lawyers
Columbia Law School alumni
Justice First politicians
Popular Will politicians
Movimiento Estudiantil (Venezuela)