Venezuelans try to get prisoners freed

Families see hope and opportunity in claims of political motives for incarceration.

- BY REGINA GARCIA CANO AND MEGAN JANETSKY

RONALDO SCHEMIDT AFP/Getty Images

THE FUNERAL of Edilson Torres, 51, who died in custody just a week after Nicolás Maduro's ouster.

Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.

The former police officer was set to be buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since his November detention on what his family said were politically motivated accusations. Hours ahead of the ceremony, his children, neighbors, police officers, friends and dozens others gathered to pay their respects.

Torres, 51, died of a heart attack on Saturday, just as his family awaited the government’s promised release of prisoners after the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. His death comes as scores of families like his — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are now coming forward to register their loved ones as political prisoners.