Gustavo Adolfo Hernández Barranco was arbitrarily detained on May 3, 2020, in the context of the so-called Operation Gideon (Operación Gedeón) and was held in El Helicoide until August 2, 2025, when he was transferred without prior notice along with other detainees. According to the testimony of his niece, Jessica Fernanda Castro Hernández, following that transfer, he remained in a state of enforced disappearance for over six months, until his family obtained a first proof of life on February 12, 2026, confirming that he was being held at the Fuerte Guaicaipuro National Center for Military Detainees (Centro Nacional de Procesados Militares del Fuerte Guaicaipuro). His relatives have denounced that during this period the detainees were subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, including being fed only two or three times a week, deprivation of hygiene for months, being forced to remain naked for prolonged periods, exposure to extreme temperatures, and humiliating acts such as being forced to place their hands in their own feces before eating. Likewise, they noted that Gustavo, who suffers from hypertension and gastrointestinal problems, experienced a severe deterioration in his health due to these prison conditions. Human rights organizations have documented that the detainees from the Gideon case were kept isolated and incommunicado for months at Fuerte Guaicaipuro, exhibiting signs of severe malnutrition, weight loss, and physical and psychological trauma consistent with allegations of torture and abuse.
