Táchira Fans Detained and Taken to Helicoide After Venezuelan League Final

What should have been a celebration of Venezuelan football turned into yet another case of repression. According to El Mundo, over 30 supporters of Deportivo Táchira were intercepted by police following Sunday’s league final against UCV and transported to the Helicoide, Venezuela’s notorious intelligence facility known for human rights abuses.

The incident followed a tense journey to Caracas, where Táchira fans had already faced heavy-handed obstruction at police checkpoints, allegedly designed to delay their arrival at the stadium. On the return trip, a smaller group stopped in Maracay for rest was ordered by police to undergo a routine search. Instead, their bus was diverted to the capital, and many ended up in Maripérez and the Helicoide.

Among the detainees were women and children, none linked to violent fan groups. Sources suggest the move may have been an attempt by local officers to curry favor with Colonel Alexander Granko, head of military counterintelligence and a figure accused by the UN of systemic torture.

Granko has also been linked to UCV, the team that faced Táchira in the final, with his 16-year-old son reportedly a starter. This event sheds light on the chavista regime’s increasing involvement in football—not just as sport, but as a tool for influence and image laundering, echoing the tactics of Colombian drug cartels in the 1990s.

The repression sparked outcry from human rights groups and families. “No crime was committed. This is pure arbitrariness,” said Marino Alvarado of Provea, as lawyers prepare to push for the detainees' release and relocation to their home state.