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 ...

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' ...

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 ...

. 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 Armed Forces of Venezuela. Also known ...

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 A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

, 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 federatio ...

, former president of the

Confederation of Workers of Venezuela A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, who escaped with

Darío Farías Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius (given name), Darius. Given name *Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director *Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper ...

and Captain

Rafael Farias Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ...

in 2006. *Captain Otto Gebauer, who participated in the events of 11 April 2002. *Commissioners

Henry Vivas Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

and

Lázaro Forero Lázaro is a Spanish or Portuguese-based given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Lázaro (footballer, born 1990), full name Lázaro Vinícius Alves Martins, Brazilian footballer * Lázaro (footballer, born 2002), fu ...

, former senior officials of the former Metropolitan Police of Caracas, both released in 2011. *

Ivan Simonovis Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgar ...

, former Secretary of Public Safety of the city of Caracas. *General

Francisco Usón Francisco Usón is a former Venezuelan general who was arrested on May 22, 2004 after an interview with journalist Marta Colomina. On December 24, 2007, he was freed on a conditional release. Career and arrest After graduating from the military aca ...

, 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 Ca ...

, 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