Maduro promoted the "torturer general"
He has advanced to the rank of division general Rafael Antonio Franco Quintero, who the U.N.'s International Fact-Finding Mission identified as one of the leading torturers of the Venezuelan regime
The United Nations has collected testimonies indicating that since 2017 Franco Quintero instituted "compulsory torture" against all inmates of the DGCIM, the military intelligence of the dictatorship. The repressor had his office in basement 1 of Boleíta prison, which allowed him to follow the torture closely. Former inmates and former employees of the DGCIM accused Franco Quintero of directly carrying out acts of hell and of being present while the detainees were being tortured. A former detainee described Franco Quintero as the most sadistic director when he was detained in Boleíta. Franco Quintero was also implicated in sexual violence against detainees, including as a direct perpetrator or through his subordinates, as in the case of Captain Juan Carlos Caguaripano. In addition, a former inmate in Boleíta told the Mission that, during an interrogation session, two DEIPC officials tried to insert a stick into his anus. Franco Quintero is also accused of forced disappearances, such as Luis de la Sotta, captain of an elite unit, or Igbert Marín Chaparro, lieutenant colonel. Finally, Quintero is also accused of stealing assets from victims as a "war booty" and is sanctioned by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Armenia, and Georgia.