Tim Tracy Jailed in Venezuela Moved to Notorious Prison

[joshcryer]

U.S. Helmer Jailed in Venezuela Moved to Notorious Prison
U.S. documentary filmmaker Tim Tracy, arrested in Venezuela for alleged espionage last April, was transferred May 29 to the notorious El Rodeo II prison outside Caracas.

Tracy and 20 others were transferred from their cells within the government intelligence service building because of a severe bacterial outbreak. Tracy is slated to attend a hearing on June 11, which will determine whether his case will proceed to trial or he will be released.

Human rights director Patricia Andrade of Miami-based Venezuela Awareness Foundation said the El Rodeo II prison is virtually a death sentence for him.

“He’s a political prisoner and I don’t understand why the Venezuelan government is committing the horror, not error, of sending him there,” said Andrade. “ El Rodeo is for convicted prisoners and Tracy hasn’t even been tried yet, and he can’t even speak Spanish well.” El Rodeo II was the site of a riot in 2011 where 25 people, including visitors, were killed during a shootout between two gangs within the prison complex.

If he dies there it will save the Venezuelan government a lot of embarrassment since the general that he filmed conspiring was released and ultimately declared innocent. They have basically nothing on this idiot (yes, he's a fucking idiot not even being able to speak Spanish going to a Spanish speaking country and filming; I can understand a tourist or businessman doing that, but not a documentarian, go watch some VICE doco's to see how it's supposed to be done, those fuckers are fluent in the language of the country they're visiting).

It's clear he was sent there to be summarily executed. Let's hope that the others like him on the inside (foreign drug dealers, etc) side with him hoping for a way out. This is a clearly innocent film maker and if he dies I expect the more vapid people here to cheer his murder.

Note: I changed the title here because who the hell knows what a "U.S. Helmer" is?

[Socialistlemur]

1. He should be fine

I saw a British show about Venezuelan prisons, at the time it was made they were controlled by inmates. If the family pays off to keep him fed and alive, these high power inmates will take care of him. This however should serve as a warning to USA and EU citizens to consider travel to Venezuela as a very high risk venture. I'd say given the political climate it's not safe, plus they have a lot of normal crime such as kidnapping, carjackings, robberies and murder.