Italy – La Redazione, Sept. 03, 2025
Pablo Neruda called it “one of the most exquisite creations to emerge from an architect’s mind.” An imposing building crossed by over three kilometers of spiral ramps. One hundred and twenty shops, a hotel, showrooms, a multiplex cinema, a gym, a swimming pool, a bowling alley, a nursery. It was conceived and built to be the most modern shopping center in the world in the 1950s—the first drive-through on the planet, inside which one could even move around by car. However, the building was never completed, first becoming a shelter for the homeless, then a barracks, and today a place of torture, where political dissidents of Nicolás Maduro’s regime are imprisoned.
El Helicoide, What It Is
This is El Helicoide, an architectural landmark in the heart of Caracas, a symbol of the fall of the Venezuelan dream, a metaphor for the betrayed history of this Caribbean nation. Among the cells of El Helicoide, since the summer of 2024, were also detained two Italo-Venezuelans: Américo De Grazia and Margarita Assenza. Américo De Grazia is a former deputy and opposition figure, arrested when Maduro violently suppressed protests over alleged presidential election fraud. Margarita Assenza, on the other hand, is a former municipal official from Maracaibo, arrested alongside Mayor Rafael Ramírez, accused of committing “crimes against the State’s assets.”
A few days ago, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced their release from El Helicoide, with the obligation, however, not to leave the capital. The Ministry also reported that there are about fifteen Italian detainees in Venezuela, most persecuted for political reasons, facing summary and pretextual charges.
