Lu Argueta is a 2023 McCain Global Leader and the secretary general of the Latin American Youth Network for Democracy (Juventud LAC). She is an international affairs professional specializing in the defense of democracy and human rights at an international level.
On International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2024, I received an unexpected call from a dear colleague of mine:
“It’s Jesús, a few minutes ago.” And I immediately knew what that meant.
Jesús Alexander Armas Monasterios had been forcefully taken by masked men, kidnapped by the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
Jesús had been at the frontlines to free Venezuela from a tyrannical regime that abuses power, undermines justice, and ensues terror on its own people. His conviction to bring democracy and peace to his country runs strong. And he has the credentials to prove it.
A leader of the Comando con Venezuela in Caracas, Jesús acquired a significant role in the electoral strategy that led the democratic opposition to victory. In the days prior to the election in July, I remember him telling me about the extreme difficulties they were enduring to credit poll watchers. The lengths the Maduro regime had gone to to discredit anyone who supported opposition leaders Edmundo González and María Corina Machado was radical.
But Jesús’ work had begun prior to that of the 2024 elections. I had long known about it through the Latin American Youth Network for Democracy (Juventud LAC), in which he showed a deep commitment not just to our common cause for democracy and freedom in the region, but to the dozens of young leaders, students, and activists in our chapter in Venezuela that look up to him.
He was democratically elected to City Council in Caracas for a five-year term that concluded in 2018 and he even ran for Mayor of Caracas. His career in public service is beautifully complemented through the various initiates he leads as the director of NGO Ciudadanía Sin Límites, and then teaching university-level courses at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.
It’s not a coincidence Jesús’ achievements have also been recognized internationally. He is a Chevening alum, an Obama scholar, and a McCain Global Leader; the latter being a prestigious fellowship awarded by the McCain Institute to character-driven leaders from around the world who embody serving a cause greater than oneself and are working to advance democracy, human rights, and freedom.
Throughout that one-year fellowship as MGLs– as we like to call it– I got to know Jesús as the kind of person who gives so much of himself to the people and causes he really cares about. What sets him apart is his unwavering integrity. At his young age, his legacy exposes an unshakable bravery that pushes for a force for change in his country. Despite the risks, Jesús still believes that Venezuela can and will rise above as a nation where every citizen’s voice is heard, where freedom and justice prevail, where families are reunited, and future generations can thrive as they deserve.
Jesús Armas represents the best of Venezuela: resilience, hope, and the unyielding pursuit of justice. He is now being arbitrarily held in El Helicoide, the biggest torture center in all of Latin America, simply for speaking up for his right to choose democracy.
His arrest is a stark reminder of the challenges authoritarianism and dictatorships bring, but it is also a rallying cry for all who believe in the power of collective action. And as his family, friends, colleagues, and freedom fighters globally stand in solidarity with him, we reaffirm our commitment to a future where every Venezuelan can live in dignity, freedom, and peace.
Today, we carry Jesús’ banner to continue his fight for a democratic Venezuela until he and all political prisoners are finally free.
