Carmen Navas, mother of Victor Hugo Quero Navas, attends mass in memory of her son in Caracas, Venezuela, on Friday, two days before her death. Venezuelan authorities confirmed Quero Navas died in state custody in July 2025, after his family had spent months seeking information about his whereabouts. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
May 18 (UPI) -- Carmen Teresa Navas, mother of Venezuelan political prisoner Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, died 10 days after authorities confirmed the death of her son while in Venezuelan state custody.
Her death Sunday followed months of complaints over his disappearance and the lack of information about his whereabouts.
Navas, affectionately known as the "grandmother of Venezuela," became a national symbol of the struggle, suffering and dignity of the families of political prisoners in Venezuela, publicly exposing what human rights defenders and the opposition describe as the Venezuelan state's "systematic cruelty" and institutional opacity.
Víctor Hugo Quero Navas, a 51-year-old businessman accused of terrorism, had been detained Jan. 3, 2025, and was being held at Rodeo I prison during a time when his family said it did not know his location, health condition or legal status.
