Carmen Navas Mourns Son in Caracas

Why this is here: More than nine months passed between Víctor Hugo Quero Navas’s death in state custody and the Venezuelan authorities’ admission of his passing, obscuring details of the case.

Carmen Navas attended a memorial mass for her son, Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, at La Candelaria church in Caracas, Venezuela on May 15th. Navas walked slowly to the church, supported by loved ones, carrying the grief now shared by many in the country. Attendees offered words of encouragement, recognizing her pain and calling for justice.

The priest at La Candelaria compared Navas’s sorrow to that of the Virgin Mary, noting her steadfastness. Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, 51, died in state custody after being detained in January 2025 during protests and accused of terrorism. His mother searched for him for months before authorities acknowledged his death, concealing information for over nine months.

Quero Navas is the 27th person to die in Venezuelan state custody since 2014. Many women, activists, and politicians attended the service, wearing white and carrying candles. While Navas found the strength “to find her son until the end,” the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear and the broader issue of political prisoners persists.