Miguel Eduardo Rodríguez Torres (born 21 January 1964) was the Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

from 2013, until he was replaced by

Carmen Meléndez Carmen Teresa Meléndez Rivas (born 3 November 1961) is a Venezuelan politician and Navy admiral. She was Minister of Interior and Justice from 25 October 2014 to 9 March 2015, and chief of staff in President Nicolás Maduro's cabinet for nearl ...

on 24 October 2014.

Military career

In 1980, he attended the Military Academy of Venezuela.

1992 coup attempt

During the February 1992 coup attempt carried out by

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

, Rodríguez Torres took part in the conspiracy. Chávez's goal, assisted by Cuban president

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

, was to capture and kill President

Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as ''Venezuelan Spanish#Some examples of Spanish words common in Venezuela.2C including some native Venezuelanisms .28slang.29, El ...

and then establish former president

Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez ( ; 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009) was a Venezuelan politician and academician who was the 46th and 51st president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999, thus becoming the longest se ...

into the presidency. Rodríguez Torres, an army captain at the time, was given the task of capturing and killing President Pérez after another coup conspirator refused to participate after discovering that Rafael Caldera would be placed as president. President Pérez, who had recently arrived from

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

, learned of the coup threat upon his return, leaving the airport in a concealed fashion which surprised Rodríguez Torres, who quickly pursued the fleeing president with his fellow militants, firing at his vehicle. Ultimately, the coup failed and the conspirators, including Rodríguez Torres, were imprisoned. After being jailed for 25 months, Rodríguez Torres was released in 1994 through an act of amnesty by Caldera, who had just been elected president.

Political career

Rodríguez Torres was director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service, Venezuela's intelligence services, from 2002 to 2013. Following the election of

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...

into the presidency in April 2013, Rodríguez Torres was made the Minister of the Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace. After the murder of former

Miss Venezuela Miss Venezuela (Spanish: ''Organización Miss Venezuela'') is a Venezuelan beauty pageant operated by the Cisneros Group. Founded in 1952, it currently selects Venezuelan representatives to Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International. ...

Mónica Spear Mónica Spear Mootz (1 October 1984 – 6 January 2014) was a Venezuelan actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Venezuela 2004. She represented Venezuela at Miss Universe 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand and finished as 4th runne ...

, an incident that provoked widespread outrage, he declared there would be "adjustments to police structures and operations" and "to existing anti-crime plans" Under his ministerial oversight during the

2014 Venezuelan protests In 2014, a series of protests, political demonstrations, and civil insurrection began in Venezuela due to the country's high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods attributed to economic policies such as strict ...

, he ordered repressive acts against peaceful protesters, with two of his own close associates killing the first victims of the protest movement on 12 February 2014, causing further unrest. Following an October 2014 incident in which multiple

colectivo ''Colectivo'' ( English: collective bus) is the name given in Argentina to a type of public transportation vehicle, especially those of Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires. The name comes from ''vehículos de transporte colectivo'' ("vehicl ...

members were killed during a CICPC raid, members of colectivos called for Rodríguez Torres to be removed from his interior minister position. Days later on 24 October 2014, Rodríguez Torres was removed from his position during a state-run television program. Among other Venezuelan officials, he is banned from entering

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. The Colombian government maintains a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion; as of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime".

Dissent

As of 2017, Rodríguez Torres had been an increasingly vocal critic of the government, alongside dissident chief state prosecutor Luisa Ortega Díaz. In May, news outlets reported that he was considering a bid for the presidency, offering a 'third way' or middle ground between the opposition and

Chavismo ''Chavismo'' (from ), also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing populist political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez that ...

. In June 2017, he expressed his opposition to the presidential initiative to convene a National Constituent Assembly, and called instead for the scheduling of new elections.

Arrest

On 13 March 2018, Rodríguez Torres, who had spoken the previous day at an opposition rally, was arrested by

SEBIN The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 2012 and is dependent on Vice President Delcy Rodríg ...

agents and brought to the

Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar The General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence () is the military counterintelligence agency of Venezuela, whose function is to prevent intelligence or espionage internally and externally by military and civilians. The unit is led by I ...

headquarters in

Sucre, Miranda Sucre Municipality is one of the 21 Municipalities of Venezuela, municipalities (municipios) that makes up the Venezuelan state of Miranda (state), Miranda and one of five the municipalities that make up the Metropolitan District of Caracas. Accor ...

. The Bolivarian government stated that the general had attempted to sow discord among the

Venezuelan armed forces The Bolivarian National Armed Forces ( - FANB) of Venezuela are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and the Minister of Defense. In addition to the army, navy, and air force there is also a national guard and national militi ...

References