Despite the recent announcements of prisoner releases, representatives from CLIPPVE remain sceptical. Some, like Sosa, were promised their loved ones would be freed, but that has yet to happen.
“There is a lot of anger because the authorities have used the releases in a very opaque and obscure way,” a representative from CLIPPVE, who also has a family member in prison, told Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity.
Some families have even faced reprimand and threats of arrest for protesting the continued detention of their loved ones.
Rivas, who is part of CLIPPVE, underscored that continuing to fight is imperative. As attention fades, so too does the pressure on the government to release the prisoners.
“I am very aware that the worst thing that can happen to a political prisoner is oblivion,” Rivas said.
For Davila, the need to raise awareness is at the heart of her mission at Defiende Venezuela. She has documented Armas’s case as well as many others.
“At least by reporting to international organisations, we make sure that there is a record of the human rights violations that are occurring, because if we only relied on the organisations in Venezuela, we wouldn’t have any record,” Davila said.
Rivas, meanwhile, has not heard from her boyfriend in a month. He is no longer allowed visits or calls.
Worse still, the threat of arrest now hangs over Rivas too. Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello called Rivas out by name in his weekly television show, Con El Mazo Dando — a religious reference that loosely translates to “hitting with a club”.
Critics have accused Cabello of using the platform to identify targets for political repression.
“This has been quite distressing,” Rivas said. She added that she currently takes care of Armas’s elderly parents. “If we were both arrested, his parents would have no one to turn to.”
Despite the risks, Rivas is resolute that silence is not an option.
“Those who are detained are in that situation for defending the truth, for defending democracy,” she said. “Every day I am thinking about what we can do for the freedom of Jesus and other political prisoners — and to ensure the creation of historical memory in the country, so that these kinds of things never happen again.”
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