Born in 1973
Eduardo José Henríquez Pernía is a retired captain of the National Guard of Venezuela and a lawyer. On January 7, 2020, he was arbitrarily detained outside his residence by alleged officials of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM). His family was not informed of his whereabouts for approximately 48 hours, constituting a period of enforced disappearance. He was subsequently presented before a military court and charged with military rebellion, later being prosecuted for treason and incitement to rebellion. During the first months of his detention, he was held at the DGCIM headquarters in Boleíta, where he reported being subjected to severe torture, including physical abuse, sexual violence, prolonged beatings, and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. As a result of this torture, he suffered serious injuries, including a dislocated shoulder and injuries to his head and genitals, for which specialized medical attention was repeatedly denied. In April 2020, he was transferred to the National Center for Military Detainees (CENAPROMIL), located in the Ramo Verde prison, where he remained in prolonged detention and periods of isolation while his judicial process suffered continuous delays. In May 2023, after remaining deprived of liberty for more than three years, he accepted responsibility for the crime of incitement to rebellion through a negotiated procedure and was sentenced to three years and four months in prison—a sentence he had already overserved at the time of his release. After regaining his freedom on May 30, 2023, he reported that he continued to face restrictions because his arrest warrant remained active in the databases of state security agencies, preventing him to live freely despite having completed his sentence.