The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-01-07
A MODERN CAPTAIN BLOOD
The Hell That Is Venezuela

We are not to know the time Of the day. Through
msnhole in the door, guarded by two soldiers,
we are let into the interior Of the prison. There
in large cell without chairs or bed in it, Just
plain naked floor, no blankets or anything, am
locked up. No one except the guard inside Chey
make assassins as guards over the politicals) is
allowed to talk to me.
The pot bellied general director Of the pris-
on with skull size Of small cocoanut, looks
me over in the morning, whip in hand. Later
on found out that the general is q former
bandit chieftain who made peace with Gomez
From the pile Of junk in the court yard my
guard picks rusty can, this to serve me food
and water with. There Is no toilet in the cell,
so they put big open oil can, rusty on the
edges Thousands Of insects crawl about in the
cell. Order is given not to give me water and
only half prison ration (even the fun ration is
slow starvation) I feel I am getting introduced
to Venenzuela.
Cling, clang, ting, tang, o'clock in the morn
ing. Sound of hundreds Of dull cow-bels. But
it's not cows, it's human beings with yard long
steel bars, thickness Of mans arm, fastened
to their legs. The so-called "grillos" weigh from
SO to 200 pounds on their feet, as they move the
hooks that fasten the bar to both legs make this
metallic sound.
Soon see one crossing the yard, in order
to walk they shift their immobi1zed body like
barrel with a hip movement, lifting the irons
up with q string. The irons remain on them
day and night. Most Of them wear only pantieS.
Almost all have unshayen faces, boards Of many
months. The one that's moving across the yard
Is being put into a dark cell on half rations.
After two months he looked like q ghost, the
skin clinging tightly to his bones.
A group OF prisoners among them another
American by the name Of Alfredo Mazuerra
venezuelan by BIRTH committed the horrible"
crime of trying to communicate with the out
side. Irons three times the weight are snapped
on them. They protest. Their hands are tied
behind their backs with the irons on they are
thus totally inlrnebile The whip is used, some
of them are strung up on the wall with their
feet tied. one of the guards says passing by
my cell "this way they Will die" the other says
1T don't matter"
One Of the prisoners, q rich farmer who did
not want to give his land TO Gomez at q vol
untary" price was kept as q gentleman pris-
oner" without chains Too old to stand 1t he
got insane, so they snapped the irons on him,
bound his hands backward, and gave him the
whip-Gomez's medicine FOR ALL be they sane
or insane,
Why the Terror
The effects have their causes, and the causes
are that about one Of the three million Of the
total Venezuelan population live in a state Of
semi-slavery. They are not bought or sold but
are bound to their master can't leave the plan
tation without permission and can be physically
mistreated or even killed by their master with
out consequences. They receive no wages Just
work for grub. About 100000 Of the agrarian
population who live nearer the cities get paid in
wages, but are obliged to buy from the COM
Ynjco ~ fbe az md
most Of them never get out Of the debts and
are liable to arrest if they leave without paying
it.
Gomez started off as d middle sized landlord
He represented the land owning class He re-
cruited his followers from the guerilla bands
roaming about the country in his days. and the
yagabonds of the countryside and playing one
group Of owners against the other, gradually
appropriated most Of them so that today he has
two-thirds of all cultivated lands in his own
hands
The young bourgeo2sie in the cities opposed
him and tried to make the French revolution
against Gomez'y feudal rule but lost Gomez
is now partner in almost all the important
industrial undertakings OF the bomgeoise. Gomez
gave himself various commercial monopoes like
meat, butter, milk, river and coastwise traffic,
ETC. He gets two cents per barrel of all oil ex-
tracted in Venezuela from the foreign capital
lists that run the oil fields, and Venezuela Is
the third largest oil producer in the world. Thus
utilizing his political power to grab off every
thing, he became from large size kulak one
Of the richest men in the world In the process
Of doing 1t he had to suppress and eliminate
everybody in his way. About 10000 political
prisoners thousands of them youths Of the "best'
families, passed through the prison. Hundreds
| of them were tortured to death for attempting
| to make the bourgeois revolution Only lately
! have we seen the working masses themselves
/ ers ...
A reign OF this Hnd can't tolerate any oppo-
sition the so-called Congress and Senate the
| governors, and all from top TO bottom are ap-
! pointed by Gomez. His army is recruited in
approved feudal fashion. They are caught Ike
dogs in the villages and In the army there is
| the regime of the whip. The soldiers are used
as laborers on Gomezs farms and the poor devils
picked up under any pretense and made prs-
oners together with the polticals construct the
roads and public buildings
There IS no judicial procedure TO be arrested
means TO Be on the road gangs, or In ths grill
los" v not worse IN the case Of polticals. There
are charges, no TRIALS, sentences. A prisoner
never knows for how long he says IN, nor what
is next
No organization is permitted, be 1t parties
labor unions societies; even chambers OF COM
MERGE are not in favor. And the Catholic Church
has to accept as bishops those that Gomez wants
Anyone be 1t a. factory owner, priest or working