El Helicoide

El Helicoide is a building in Caracas, Venezuela owned by the

El Helicoide
Venezuelan government and used as a facility and prison for
both regular and political prisoners of the Bolivarian National Caracas, Venezuela
Intelligence Service (SEBIN).[1] In the shape of a three-sided
pyramid, it was originally constructed as a shopping mall, but
never completed.[1]

During the Nicolás Maduro administration, El Helicoide became

a high-profile prison for political detainees where systemic
torture and human rights violations have taken place.[1] Prisoners
have reported "people being beaten, electrocuted, hung by their
limbs, forced into stress positions and forced to plunge their face Coordinates 10.4894°N
into a bag of faeces and breathe in".[2] 66.9099°W
Type Office building,
prison
Contents Site information
Owner Government of
History
Concept Venezuela

Cancellation Operator SEBIN

Government facility Controlled by Ministry of Interior,
Dimensions Justice and Peace

See also Condition In service

References Site history

External links Built 1961
In use 1984
Events Crisis in Venezuela
History
Venezuelan
El Helicoide is built on a hill in Roca Tarpeya between the protests
parishes of San Pedro and San Agustín, in the extension of the
avenues Armed Forces, President Medina Angarita, and Nueva Granada. It has the shape of a three-sided
pyramid with curved points formed by elevated paved roads intended for vehicle traffic and parking around
an enclosed central area.

Concept

Its construction was undertaken by a private company during the government of then-president Marcos
Pérez Jiménez in 1956. It was designed by the architects Pedro Neuberger, Dirk Bornhorst and Jorge
Romero Gutiérrez. The project was to have included 300 boutiques, eight cinemas, a heliport, a 5-star
hotel, a park, a club of owners and a show palace on the seventh level.[3][4] The building would include a 4
km long ramp spiraling around the structure itself, allowing vehicles to enter the building and park inside.
The project would have cost $10 million in 1958, or $90 million in 2018.[4]

In preparation for the project, many families were evicted from shanty towns in San Agustín and had their
homes demolished.[4]

Cancellation

Following the 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état which resulted in the overthrow of dictator Marcos Pérez
Jiménez, developers were accused of being funded by Pérez Jiménez's government.[4] The incoming
government refused to allow the mall's construction and litigation surrounding the project began involving
the developers, businesses and the government.[4] Nelson Rockefeller made offers to take over the project,
but regulations resulted in the withdrawal of his proposal.[4] By 1961, construction of the building came to
a halt after the development firm fell into bankruptcy one year before completion.[4] That same year the
project was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[4]

In 1965 attempts were made to resume its construction to complete it by 1967, though plans fell through.[5]
Over time, only the concrete foundation of the project was present while equipment destined for the
cancelled mall was stolen, including custom high-speed Austrian elevators.[4]

Government facility

In 1975, the Venezuelan government acquired the facility.[4]

Between 1979 and 1982, 10,000 squatters occupied the facility
until they were evicted.[4] By 1982, only the geodesic dome with
its aluminum top on the concrete infrastructure was completed.

From 1984, some state agencies were gradually installed in the

building,[3] the most important of which was the Directorate of Another view of the structure
Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP). In 1985, DISIP
purchased a 15 year lease for the lower two floors of El Helicoide,
where prison cells are presently located.[4] The building was seriously affected by a bombing in the 1992
Venezuelan coup d'état attempts and an anti-aircraft response from it. The dome was later repaired
following these events.

Since 2010, part of the building serves as the headquarters of the National Experimental Security
University (UNES). As unrest grew surrounding the Nicolás Maduro government, offices, storerooms and
even lavatories were converted into makeshift holding areas for the growing number of prisoners.[3]
Prisoners describe it as a place where systematic torture and human rights violations occur.[1]

On 16 May 2018, a prison riot occurred in El Helicoide, with several political prisoners arrested during the
protests; Venezuelan authorities fired tear gas and buckshot at individuals in the area.[6][7]

Dimensions
Total area: 101,940 m²
Built area: 77,748 m²
Commercial premises: 46,715 m²
 Roads and green areas: 29,192 m²
Exhibition and industry area: 8.445 m²

See also
Gulag
Laogai
Kwalliso
La Tumba (Caracas)

References
1. Velandia, Karenina and Charlie Newland (24 January 2019). "El Helicoide: From an icon to
an infamous Venezuelan jail" (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46864864).
BBC News. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
2. Graham-Harrison, Emma (15 September 2017). "Downward spiral: how Venezuela's symbol
of progress became political prisoners' hell" (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/1
5/el-helicoide-venezuela-caracas-building-symbol). The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
3. Velandia, Karenina; Newland, Charlie (24 January 2019). "El Helicoide: From an icon to a
infamous Venezuelan jail" (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46864864)
(includes prison photos). BBC News. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
4. Olalquiaga, Celeste (10 February 2019). "El Helicoide: The architectural wonder that now
sums up Venezuela's spiral into despair" (https://www.cnn.com/style/article/helicoide-venezu
ela-olalquiaga-intl/index.html). CNN Style. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
5. "El Helicoide continúa siendo un veremos" (https://web.archive.org/web/20021002082057/h
ttp://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/ediciones/2002/06/30/p11n1.htm). Últimas Noticias (in
Spanish). 30 June 2002. Archived from the original (http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/edicio
nes/2002/06/30/p11n1.htm) on 2 October 2002.
6. "Presos de El Helicoide denuncian bombardeo de lacrimógenas y piden presencia de
Fiscalía y Defensoría (Audio)" (https://www.lapatilla.com/site/2018/05/16/presos-de-el-helico
ide-denuncian-bombardeo-de-lacrimogenas-y-piden-presencia-de-fiscalia-y-defensoria-aud
io/). La Patilla (in European Spanish). 16 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
7. Camacho, Carlos (16 May 2018). "Venezuela Political Prisoners Riot as National Guard &
Police Surround Nefarious Prison (VIDEO)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20181116184133/
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2456741&CategoryId=10717). Latin American
Herald Tribune. Archived from the original (http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=245674
1&CategoryId=10717) on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.

External links
Video of torture (https://www.abc.es/internacional/abci-abc-destapa-videos-torturas-servicio-i
nteligencia-maduro-201903202058_video.html) at El Helicoide, from ABC Spain

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This page was last edited on 4 June 2022, at 19:40 (UTC).

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