Venezuelan journalist and former political prisoner Carlos Julio Rojas on Sunday accused the nation’s socialist regime, now led by “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez, of criminalizing the Catholic “Burning of Judas” Easter tradition.
Rojas, who was unjustly detained by the Venezuelan regime days after he participated in a 2024 Burning of Judas in Caracas, denounced that members of the Bolivarian National Police prevented his local community from carrying out the tradition.
The “Burning of Judas” is a centuries-old activity celebrated by Catholics in some Latin American and European nations throughout the Easter weekend that consists in crafting an effigy of Judas Iscariot and burning it to mark the apostle’s betrayal of Jesus Christ — an action that set in motion a series of events that culminated with Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
In Venezuela, the celebration is usually held on Easter Sunday and it is historically believed to have been first carried out in the country at the city of Cumaná, Sucre, in 1499. Much like in other Hispanic nations, the “Burning of Judas,” in addition to its Catholic roots, has also served as a venue to express contempt for local or international politicians, public figures, or representations of local issues. Over the past years, Venezuelan dissidents have burned effigies of now-deposed socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, while regime sympathizers have opted to burn effigies representing President Donald Trump.
In 2024, Rojas, an activist who resides in Caracas’ La Candelaria parish, led his community’s Burning of Judas ceremony. At the time, he and others set fire to a two-headed effigy that represented Maduro and “opposition” politician Manuel Rosales, a leftist former governor of the state of Zulia who had chosen to run against Maduro in that year’s sham presidential election before he withdrew from the “race” in late April.
Days after he participated in La Candelaria’s 2024 Burning of Judas ceremony, Rojas was unjustly detained by regime officials and dubiously charged with “plotting” to assassinate Maduro. The activist remained unjustly detained for 21 months at the Helicoide, Venezuela’s largest and most infamous torture center, until he was released in mid-January — days after President Donald Trump authorized a U.S. law enforcement operation in Caracas to arrest Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Days after Maduro was arrested, Jorge Rodríguez, the head of the socialist-controlled National Assembly — and brother of “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez — announced that the regime would release an “important number” of Venezuelan and foreign nationals kept as political prisoners. Weeks later, the ruling socialists expeditiously approved a “Mass Amnesty Law” widely criticized for its narrow scope and reach.
On Sunday, Rojas denounced that the local court that is overseeing his amnesty request has delayed the response to his case for over a month, an action that rendered him unable to participate on this year’s Burning of Judas ceremony at La Candelaria. He accused the Venezuelan socialist regime of using the “delay” as a tactic to silence and threaten him with another arrest “simply for peacefully and constitutionally protesting or expressing an opinion against Delcy [Rodríguez]’s interim government.”
“By criminalizing a cultural event like the Burning of Judas out of fear of criticism, we are reminded once again that Venezuela is living under a dictatorship that has merely replaced Nicolás Maduro with Delcy Rodríguez — for now,” Rojas reportedly said.
Rojas, in a social media post, denounced that an “impressive” number of members of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) stationed themselves at the on the corner of Tracabordo in La Candelaria, the same place the parish has been carrying out the Burning of Judas at over the past 15 years.
“I’ve been arrested five times. The last time, I spent nearly two years in prison at El Helicoide for the crime of burning a effigy of Judas. Believe it or not, this centuries-old cultural tradition in Venezuela is considered a terrorist act by Chavismo, and they can even accuse you of attempted assassination, as was the case with me,” he stressed, per the outlet Monitoreamos.
In early February, days after his release from prison, Rojas spoke with the Colombian news channel NTN24 and denounced having been subjected to psychological torture, prolonged isolation, and other inhumane conditions during the 21 months he remained unjustly imprisoned at the Helicoide. Rojas spoke with the Colombian channel in spite of threats from regime officials who allegedly told him to “behave” and forbade him from speaking to the press.
Rojas detailed that some of the most inhumane punishment he received involved spending 70 days without sunlight, four months in complete isolation, refusal to be allowed access to medication for his blood pressure and physical pain issues, and being thrown in a punishment cell known as the Tigrito (“Lil’ Tiger”), which are small cells spaces measuring approximately two meters by two, without beds, and in unsanitary conditions.
The Venezuelan regime announced in late February that it will allegedly transform the Helicoide into a “social, sports, cultural, and commercial center for police families and the communities” surrounding the facility.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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