Born in 1982
José Javier Tarazona Sánchez is a university professor, human rights defender, and director of the NGO FundaREDES, an organization that documented the presence of irregular armed groups and human rights violations in Venezuela’s border regions. On July 2, 2021, after filing a complaint with the Public Ministry in Coro, Falcón state, regarding harassment by state security agents, he was arbitrarily detained by officials of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), along with fellow FundaREDES activists Rafael Tarazona and Omar de Dios García. For more than 30 hours, his relatives and lawyers were denied information regarding his whereabouts, constituting a period of enforced disappearance. He was subsequently presented before a court with jurisdiction over terrorism without access to a lawyer of his choice and charged with terrorism, treason, and incitement to hatred. Although the court initially ordered his transfer to another detention center, he remained held in El Helicoide, where he reported being subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Independent investigations documented allegations that he was held in prolonged isolation, deprived of adequate detention conditions, and subjected to physical abuse and coercive acts aimed at obtaining self-incriminating statements. His judicial process was marked by repeated delays and suspensions, with preliminary hearings adjourned on numerous occasions and a trial repeatedly interrupted and restarted without a final verdict being issued. After 1,675 days of detention, Tarazona was released on February 1, 2026, as part of a broader process of releasing political prisoners in Venezuela. Despite his release, national and international organizations continue to maintain that his detention was arbitrary and that those responsible for the violations committed against him have not been held accountable.