Matthew Heath knows better than most Americans what Nicolás Maduro’s regime looked like from the inside. An honorably discharged U.S. Marine veteran, Heath was wrongfully detained by Venezuelan authorities while traveling through the country in September 2020. He spent over two years in Casa de los Sueños, an infamous detention facility and torture center run by the country’s military counterintelligence. He was ultimately released in October 2022 as part of a high-profile prisoner swap that saw the return of Maduro’s relatives, who had been convicted of narcotics trafficking charges in the United States.
In the days following Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces, I spoke to Heath about his experience in Venezuelan detention and his perspective about what will happen next in the country. The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Tanya Lukyanova: You were arrested by Venezuelan authorities in September 2020 and charged with treason, terrorism, and arms trafficking. Can you briefly walk me through what led to your arrest and how it unfolded?
Matthew Heath: While traveling through Venezuela, I was stopped by the Venezuela military and arrested once I identified myself as an American. Like a lot of Americans, I was ignorant of the ramifications of the conflict between governments. I didn’t realize that you don’t have to be interested in politics; politics can be interested in you.
I was in a taxi with absolutely no weapons of any kind, not even a fork and knife. At a military checkpoint, they asked me to show them my passport. I said, of course, here you go. Here’s my American passport. And they said, that’s very good. You’re under arrest.
I was taken to the DGCIM [Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar] military intelligence, where I was brutally tortured and interrogated. I found out later that they planted rockets, missiles, and machine guns—weapons that could not have even fit inside my taxi. I was detained simply for being an American.
TL: Venezuelan officials publicly portrayed you as a spy and mercenary. From your vantage point, what was most distorted—or deliberately false—about the case they made against you?
