On This Day in 2010 Franklin Brito Became a Martyr for Liberty and Human Rights in Venezuela

"I’ve learned of the death of hunger striker Franklin Brito. It appears that Hugo Chavez now has his own Orlando Zapata" - Yoani Sanchez, August 31, 2010 on twitter

 

Fifteen years ago on  August 30, 2020 Franklin Brito died on a hunger strike in Venezuela. Franklin was a farmer and a biologist whose land was expropriated by Hugo Chavez in 2000 according to CNN. Other news agencies place the date of expropriation anywhere between 2003 and 2004. 

Brito exhausted every recourse and was repeatedly driven to the extreme option: the hunger strike. El Universal out of Caracas offers a chronology of the expropriated farmer's odyssey. 

In the video below, published on October 28, 2009, after over 90 days on hunger strike that Franklin was carrying out, he explains how all of this began. 

Hunger strikes are the ultimate recourse in the arsenal of non-violent resistance, and over the years around the world it has succeeded at times but in places like Cuba, Ireland, and now in Venezuela human beings have died on hunger strikes.

In Cuba the names of Pedro Luis Boitel and Orlando Zapata Tamayo are remembered as is Bobby Sands of Northern Ireland (who the Castro dictatorship built a memorial to in Cuba) and Venezuela's Franklin Brito is part of this select grouping that demonstrates the ultimate price when engaging in a hunger strike.

The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man by the Organization of American States and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations both recognize the right to private property, despite the fact that it is frequently violated. It is a human right that is acknowledged on a global scale and is expressly stated.

Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article XXIII of the American Declaration states: "Every person has a right to own such private property as meets the essential needs of decent living and helps to maintain the dignity of the individual and of the home."

When Franklin Brito's family said that he stood for "the struggle of the Venezuelan people for property rights, access to justice, for living in freedom," they were simply stating the facts of the matter. Brito states in the video below, which was shot on November 19, 2009, that he is defending human dignity.

"I am not doing this strike for something material or because persons have behaved badly towards me - that one could say are corrupt. I am doing this strike for dignity and justice. I believe that these are the greatest values that a human being should have."

 The Venezuelan government said that Franklin Brito was mentally unstable and took him to a military hospital, and placed him under an armed guard.. The Red Cross, Caracas Clinical Hospital and the Venezuelan Psychologists' Association said that Franklin Brito was of sound mind.

The tactics Mr. Chavez is using in questioning the mental stability of his adversaries, and smearing them, even in death, is straight out of his Cuban mentor's repertoire. Friends and family of Franklin Brito had best organize the facts and evidence surrounding his case protect it and duplicate it so that it cannot be seized and destroyed. They should engage in speaking out anywhere and everywhere to counter the avalanche of slander and libel from regime apologists against a man who can no longer defend himself.

Hugo Chávez nationalized 2.5 million hectares as part of a “land reform drive.” The so-called reform, combined with increased government control over the economy, exacerbating food shortages in Venezuela with Chavez forced to step up imports despite abundant land and a tropical climate just like Cuba did decades ago.

It is not madness to take extremes in the defense of liberty and justice, but it is madness to repeat the same failed policies that have bankrupted and destroyed nations the world over and expect a different outcome in your own homeland.

Franklin Brito was a sane man confronting an evil system, and through his protest embarrassed the Venezuelan dictatorship. The regime sought to disappear him and drove him to his death.

Three years later Hugo Chavez was dead. Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver trained in Cuba before embracing Chavismo, became the Venezuelan dictator's successor.   

Fifteen years have now passed, and Franklin Brito is not forgotten, and the evil of the regime in Caracas is now recognized around the world.

Earlier today Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado tweeted in remembrance of Franklin Brito and his importance in Venezuela's history.

Franklin Brito is a name that Venezuelans WILL REMEMBER FOREVER. The man who challenged the regime, stood firm, and gave his own life to defend what was his, his PROPERTY, his DIGNITY, OUR RIGHTS. Today marks 15 years since his death, which has a culprit: Hugo Chávez and his obsession with EXPROPRIATING, WHICH IS STEALING.

Below is the original Spanish text. 

Franklin Brito es un nombre que los venezolanos RECORDAREMOS SIEMPRE. El hombre que desafió al régimen, se paró firme y entregó su propia vida para defender lo suyo, su PROPIEDAD, su DIGNIDAD, NUESTROS DERECHOS.

Hoy se cumplen 15 años de su muerte, la cual tiene un culpable:… pic.twitter.com/ruRH4Q2VSm

— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) August 30, 2025

Franklin Brito: A Martyr for Liberty and Human Rights in Venezuela

 "I’ve learned of the death of hunger striker Franklin Brito. It appears that Hugo Chavez now has his own Orlando Zapata" - Yoani Sanchez, August 31, 2010 on twitter

 

(Above) Franklin Brito before and after engaging in 8 hunger strikes

Hunger strikes are the ultimate recourse in the arsenal of non-violent resistance, and over the years around the world it has succeeded at times but in places like Cuba, Ireland, and now in Venezuela human beings have died on hunger strikes.

In Cuba the names of Pedro Luis Boitel and Orlando Zapata Tamayo are remembered as is Bobby Sands of Northern Ireland (who the Castro dictatorship built a memorial to in Cuba) and Venezuela's Franklin Brito is part of this select grouping that demonstrates the ultimate price when engaging in a hunger strike.

Franklin Brito was a farmer and a biologist whose land was expropriated by Hugo Chavez in 2000 according to CNN. Other news agencies place the date of expropriation anywhere between 2003 and 2004. He exhausted every recourse and was driven to the final option: the hunger strike in 2005.El Universal out of Caracas offers a chronology of Brito's odyssey. In the video below published on October 28, 2009 after over 90 days on hunger strike Franklin was carrying out, he explains how all of this began.

The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man by the Organization of American States and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations both recognize the right to private property, despite the fact that it is frequently violated. It is a human right that is acknowledged on a global scale and is expressly stated.

Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article XXIII of the American Declaration states: "Every person has a right to own such private property as meets the essential needs of decent living and helps to maintain the dignity of the individual and of the home."

When Franklin Brito's family said that he stood for "the struggle of the Venezuelan people for property rights, access to justice, for living in freedom," they were simply stating the facts of the matter. Franklin Brito states in the video below, which was shot on November 19, 2009, that he is defending human dignity.

"I am not doing this strike for something material or because persons have behaved badly towards me - that one could say are corrupt. I am doing this strike for dignity and justice. I believe that these are the greatest values that a human being should have."

 The Venezuelan tyranny* said that Franklin Brito was mentally unstable and took him to a military hospital, and placed him under an armed guard.. The Red Cross, Caracas Clinical Hospital and the Venezuelan Psychologists' Association said that Franklin Brito was of sound mind.

The tactics Mr. Chavez is using in questioning the mental stability of his adversaries, and smearing them, even in death, is straight out of his Cuban mentor's repertoire. Friends and family of Franklin Brito had best organize the facts and evidence surrounding his case protect it and duplicate it so that it cannot be seized and destroyed. They should engage in speaking out anywhere and everywhere to counter the avalanche of slander and libel from regime apologists against a man who can no longer defend himself.

Hugo Chávez has nationalized 2.5 million hectares as part of a “land reform drive.” The so-called reform, combined with increased government control over the economy, has exacerbated food shortages in Venezuela with Chavez forced to step up imports despite abundant land and a tropical climate just like Cuba did years ago.

It is not madness to take extremes in the defense of liberty and justice, but it is madness to repeat the same failed policies that have bankrupted and destroyed nations the world over and expect a different outcome in your own homeland.

Franklin Brito was a sane man confronting an evil system, and through his protest embarrassed the Venezuelan dictatorship that sought to disappear him and drove him to his death.

Three years later Hugo Chavez was dead, and his successor Nicolas Maduro was a former bus driver who had gotten training in Cuba before embracing Chavismo. 

14 years have now passed, and Franklin Brito is not forgotten, and the evil of the regime in Caracas is now recognized around the world.

"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

*Use of the term tyranny is not a rhetorical exercise but defines what Hugo Chavez's democratically elected government has descended into a tyranny. There are two dictionary definitions of tyranny which are often related to each other. For example in the case of Cuba with Fidel Castro it is the state ruled by an absolute ruler but in the case of Venezuela it is the "arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority" that applies.

Franklin Brito: Martyred human rights defender tortured by Venezuela's regime

"I’ve learned of the death of hunger striker Franklin Brito. It appears that Hugo Chavez now has his own Orlando Zapata" - Yoani Sanchez, August 31, 2010 on twitter

Franklin Brito ( September 5, 1960 – August 30, 2010)

Franklin Brito was a farmer and biologist whose 250 acre fruit and vegetable farm was expropriated by Hugo Chavez in 2003.

Notice of expropriation

Hugo Chávez nationalized 2.5 million hectares as part of a “land reform drive.” This was done allegedly to address past inequalities in distribution. The so-called reform, combined with increased government control over the economy exacerbated food shortages in Venezuela, just like the Castro regime did in Cuba.

Franklin Brito on his farm prior to it being seized in 2003.

Today, the fruits of this policy in Venezuela is rising malnutrition approaching famine levels, but for too long the humanitarian crisis was covered up.

Franklin Brito's ability to provide for his family was crippled when the Chavez regime took his land. The politicized courts in Venezuela, unwilling to provide a just decision, left him in a desperate situation.  

Despite its widespread violation there is a right to private property, it is an internationally recognized human right, in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Human rights and the rule of law exist in order to provide justice and protect those without power from the abuse of the powerful. Both have been long absent in Venezuela.

Sowed his mouth shut in 2004 protesting the Chavez regime.

Brito began a series of protests and demonstrations to defend his rights. Franklin exhausted every recourse until he was driven to the final option.  

The Venezuelan regime said Brito was mentally unstable because he had sown up his mouth and cut off one of his fingers on live television protesting the seizure of his land.

Franklin Brito protested Chavez regime's property seizure

The Red Cross, Caracas Clinical Hospital and the Venezuelan Psychologists' Association said that Franklin Brito was of sound mind.  

Franklin Brito exhausted every nonviolent recourse and was driven to the final option: six different hunger strikes that began in 2004. 

Franklin Brito on hunger strike holds up photo of himself prior to start.

During one of these hunger strikes on November 19, 2009 Brito explained what drove him:

"I am not doing this strike for something material or because persons have behaved badly towards me - that one could say are corrupt. I am doing this strike for dignity and justice. I believe that these are the greatest values that a human being should have."

Brito was taken by the military on December 13, 2009 held at the Military Hospital "Dr.  Carlos  Arvelo" in Caracas. He was taken under the excuse of protecting his health, but was subjected to cruel and unusual practices that rose to the level of torture and compromised his health.

Military Hospital "Dr.  Carlos  Arvelo"

He was kept next to an air conditioning unit at 8 degrees Celsius (46.4 degrees Fahrenheit). This unit also made a constant and incessant noise that made it difficult for him to sleep. Officials used the pretext of treating the "insomnia" to use medications for schizophrenia, specifically hallucinogens. This practice of using psychiatric "treatment" as a weapon against dissidents has been well documented both in Cuba under the Castro regime and in the Soviet Union.  Foro por la Vida Coalition of Venezuelan NGOs reported on further mistreatment that compromised the farmer and biologist's health.

Franklin Brito started having breathing problems attributable to the negligent performance of  doctors  who,  through  a  procedure  executed inefficiently, pierced  a lung, which resulted that this be filled with water; in this procedure he also suffers havoc in the glottis, generating  difficulties in  speaking. Is worth noting that this occurs in  mid-July, eight months after a Criminal Court decided  that only under the custody of state his life could be safe.

Franklin Brito died on August 30, 2010 in the Military Hospital "Dr.  Carlos  Arvelo" in Caracas. 

The tactics Hugo Chavez used, questioning the mental stability of Franklin Brito, weaponizing medical care to break him down both physically and psychologically using torture then smearing him, in death, were copied from the Castro regime's repertoire.

In Cuba Pedro Luis Boitel (1972), Orlando Zapata Tamayo (2010) and Wilman Villar Mendoza (2012) all died on hunger strikes protesting their unjust imprisonment and ill treatment while in the custody of regime officials.

In his last interview, Franklin Brito called on Venezuelans to be the authors of their own destiny and not rely on politicians.   



Franklin Brito's family stated that he stood for "the struggle of the Venezuelan people for property rights, access to justice, for living in freedom."

Nine years later and the wisdom of his advice and his courageous stand become more evident with each passing day.

All eyes on Venezuela September 1st: “The Grand Taking of Caracas”

"Cuba is the sea of happiness. Towards there goes Venezuela. " - Hugo Chavez, March 8, 2000

“The Grand Taking of Caracas: Gathering Points”

 The democratic opposition in Venezuela having received an electoral mandate late last year that gave it control of the National Assembly has confronted a regime that has undermined the rule of law, allowed Cuban military and intelligence officials to call the shots in repression, and that has engaged in maneuvers to undermine the Assembly's capacity to govern. This has led to the call for a recall on the rule of Nicolas Maduro and free election for his replacement in accordance with the constitution.

Ignoring the demands of the citizenry the Maduro regime is attempting to block or delay the recall to maintain Chavista control. In response, the democratic opposition has called on the citizenry to nonviolently gather on September 1st in the capital of Caracas in order to pressure electoral boards to allow the recall vote.  This protest is called "The Grand Taking of Caracas" and has seven different gathering points across the Venezuelan capital.

The Maduro regime has responded preemptively arresting nonviolent democratic opposition activists and manufacturing false charges against them. The arrest of Yon Goicoechea, a young political leader and family man, forcibly taken by men in unmarked vehicles Monday morning is a chilling example compounded by the sinister and manufactured slanders against him by Diosdado Cabello later that same day.

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights issued a press release in which it describes some of the other repressive tactics used by the Maduro regime against the democratic opposition.

At around 3AM on August 27, political leader Daniel Ceballos, who was at his home under house arrest, was transferred to the prison “26 de julio” in San Juan de los Morros. Likewise, on August 28 at 10PM SEBIN agents raided the home of political leader Lester Toledo without a warrant. 

Opposition leaders in 2016 are still being murdered in Venezuela and the international community must pay attention to this disturbing trend especially with this upcoming opposition protest on September 1st. There is every reason to fear for Yon's life as well as the lives of other prisoners of conscience.

Venezuelan activist Yon Goicoechea (center) kidnapped this past Monday

Venezuela is in the midst of a profound crisis as the Maduro regime, with the help of their Cuban advisors, transform the country into a totalitarian dictatorship. This is taking place in an international environment that over the past decade has seen a retreat both in human rights and the defense of democratic institutions. The leftist regime in Nicaragua is also becoming a dictatorship along the Chavez model.

Despite the claims made by Nicolas Maduro that the United States is behind the September 1st protest organized by Venezuela's democratic opposition and is promoting a coup d'etat against his regime the reality is that Western Democracies, including the United States have abandoned Venezuela's democrats.

In Latin America the center-right government of Macri in Argentina is blocking efforts to censure the Venezuelan regime for its anti-democratic practices in favor of backroom deals to obtain the support of Caracas at the United Nations on a key vote.

Obama with Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro  (April 2009)

The Obama administration and the Kerry State Department have abandoned democracy promotion for the pursuit of stability and maintaining the status quo, and are willing to collaborate with whoever can accomplish that realpolitik objective. It is important to remember that Secretary of State John Kerry in  August of 2015 said "the United States and Cuba are talking about ways to solve the Venezuelan crisis." The news today that the Chavista judge who sealed the fate of Venezuelan hunger striker Franklin Brito in 2010 now pursuing political asylum in the United States speaks volumes about the Obama administration's posture to the regime in Venezuela.

The Washington Post Editorial Page Editor in his August 28, 2016 OpEd "What the world could lose in America’s presidential election" highlighted the Obama administration's global abandonment of human rights and democracy promotion beginning in 2009:

But democracy promotion faded as a goal once Obama moved into the White House. In negotiations with China, Iran, Cuba and North Korea, human rights were never a priority. [...] How far the administration evolved from Obama’s 2007 vision can be measured in an article by Vice President Biden in the current issue of [Foreign Affairs] that barely mentions democracy or human rights. Biden sets tasks for the next administration to achieve a “more peaceful and prosperous future,” none explicitly related to freedom: deepening alliances in Asia and the Western Hemisphere, addressing climate change and terrorism, improving ties with regional powers.

What is taking place in Venezuela is the result of the decision by both Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro to impose the Cuba model on the Venezuelan people, not a U.S. conspiracy as the Venezuelan regime claims. This sham can be seen by Maduro's response to neutral third parties that could objectively document the September 1st protests: rejecting the presence of international observers, and deporting international journalists.

Leopoldo Lopez with supporters on February 18, 2014 when he turned himself in

 The future of Venezuela will be decided by Venezuelans, but sadly the forces of dictatorship have international backing that the democrats do not. This means that Venezuelan democrats have only one possible path to success and that is via a carefully though out strategy of civic nonviolent resistance. The path laid out by Leopoldo Lopez through his nonviolent example has shaken the international legitimacy of the Maduro regime, earned Leopoldo the good will of tens of millions of his countrymen in Venezuela and should be followed.

Free Venezuelans may not be able to depend on democratic governments, but people of good will can and should take action by organizing, speaking out and raising awareness. For example the The Latin American network of Youth for Democracy is denouncing the ongoing wave of repression in Venezuela.  People of good will around the world need to take to social media and follow events in that South American country.

All eyes on Venezuela!
Free Leopoldo!
Free Yon!
Free all of Venezuela's prisoners of conscience!

Franklin Brito: A Martyr for Liberty and Human Rights in Venezuela

"I’ve learned of the death of hunger striker Franklin Brito. It appears that Hugo Chavez now has his own Orlando Zapata" - Yoani Sanchez, August 31, 2010 on twitter

Franklin Brito ( September 5, 1960 – August 30, 2010)

Hunger strikes are the ultimate recourse in the arsenal of non-violent resistance, and over the years around the world it has succeeded at times but in places like Cuba, Ireland, and six years ago in Venezuela a human being died on hunger strike.

In Cuba the names of Pedro Luis Boitel, Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Wilman Villar Mendoza are remembered as is Bobby Sands of Northern Ireland (who the Cuban dictatorship built a memorial to in Cuba) and on August 30, 2010 Venezuela's Franklin Brito joined this select grouping that demonstrated the ultimate price when engaging in a hunger strike.

Franklin Brito was a farmer and a biologist whose land was expropriated by Hugo Chavez in 2000 according to CNN. Other news agencies place the date of expropriation anywhere between 2003 and 2004. He exhausted every recourse and was driven to the final option: the hunger strike in 2005.  A chronicle of Brito's odyssey is available in Spanish on Wikipedia. In the video below taken three months prior to his death the hunger striker describes his condition and his struggle for justice:



Despite its widespread violation there is a right to private property enshrined both in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Organization of American States' American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. It is an internationally recognized human right and clearly stated:

Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article XXIII of the American Declaration states: "Every person has a right to own such private property as meets the essential needs of decent living and helps to maintain the dignity of the individual and of the home."

When Franklin Brito's family said that he stood for "the struggle of the Venezuelan people for property rights, access to justice, for living in freedom," they were simply stating the facts of the matter. In the video below taken on November 19, 2009 Franklin Brito declares that:

"I am not doing this strike for something material or because persons have behaved badly towards me - that one could say are corrupt. I am doing this strike for dignity and justice. I believe that these are the greatest values that a human being should have."

The Venezuelan tyranny* said that Franklin Brito was mentally unstable because he had sown up his mouth and cut off one of his fingers on live television. The Red Cross, Caracas Clinical Hospital and the Venezuelan Psychologists' Association said that Franklin Brito was of sound mind.

The tactics Mr. Chavez used and Nicolas Maduro is now using, questioning the mental stability of their adversaries, and smearing them, even in death, is straight out of their Cuban mentor's repertoire. Friends and family of Franklin Brito had best continue to organize the facts and evidence surrounding his case, protect it, and duplicate it so that it cannot be seized and destroyed. They should engage in speaking out anywhere and everywhere to counter the avalanche of slander and libel from regime apologists against a man who can no longer defend himself.

Hugo Chávez has nationalized 2.5 million hectares as part of a “land reform drive.” The so-called reform, combined with increased government control over the economy, has exacerbated food shortages in Venezuela with Chavez forced to step up imports despite abundant land and a tropical climate just like Cuba did years ago.

It is not madness to take extremes in the defense of liberty and justice, but it is madness to repeat the same failed policies that have bankrupted and destroyed nations the world over and expect a different outcome in your own homeland.

 "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

*Use of the term tyranny is not a rhetorical exercise but defines what Hugo Chavez's democratically elected government has descended into a tyranny. There are two dictionary definitions of tyranny which are often related to each other. For example in the case of Cuba with Fidel Castro it is the state ruled by an absolute ruler but in the case of Venezuela it is the "arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority" that applies.

Venezuelan prisoner of conscience Leopoldo López starts hunger strike

"We respect any person who goes on a hunger strike. That method of struggle is not ours. We're women who are never going to do it, and although we disapprove of it, we're going to give them all the moral and spiritual support we can." - Berta Soler, Leader of the Ladies in White Movement 


Leopoldo López Mendoza has announced both in a letter and in a video that he started a hunger strike on May 24, 2015 at 12 noon. The video in addition states that Daniel Ceballos is joining him on the hunger strike and calls on Venezuelans to take part in a vast and nonviolent demonstration on Saturday. Below is a translation of the letter. The original Spanish is reproduced at the end of this blog post.

To the People of Venezuela,

I have taken the decision to initiate a hunger strike as a peaceful and nonviolent protest before the lack of responses on the part of the regime to the profound crisis that we, all Venezuelans, are suffering and in particular for the already prolonged situation of those of us who are political prisoners. After two days of fasting, yesterday Sunday May 24th at 12 noon I formally initiated the hunger strike with the following petitions:

1. Freedom of Political Prisoners
2. End of the persecution and censorship
3. Publishing of the Date for elections to be announced and that the observance by the OAS and the EU be permitted.

To all Venezuelans I thank you from my heart for all of the support and ask you not to leave us alone that we will never abandon the struggle for a better Venezuela.
Your Brother,

Leopoldo Lopez

Political Prisoner, Prison of Ramo Verde

People of good will, myself included, are concerned when anyone announces a hunger strike understanding the gravity and danger of such an undertaking. In the case of Venezuela even more so when one recalls the case of Franklin Brito, who died on hunger strike on August 30, 2010.
Nonviolence expert, Michael Nagler in an Introduction to Nonviolence filmed at the University of California at Berkeley in the fall of 2006 offered the following analysis on hunger strikes within a nonviolent context in the video above starting at 46 minutes and 38 seconds stating:  

"This is not a case of suicide. You are not killing yourself. You are risking death. What you are doing is putting your life into the hands of another person." ... "You are not killing yourself but you are saying to the person that your behavior is so unacceptable that if you continue it its going to kill me. It is an extreme case of taking on the suffering that is in a situation." ...This is different from a threat because what you are saying to the person is "I am going to exhibit to you mirror back to you the ultimate consequences of what you are doing." ... "This is an act of truth. You are killing us - you are killing our people and I'm going to show you that you are doing it to awaken your conscience."...Thats why you have to be carrying on a conversation on a nonverbal level.

There are several questions that any individual contemplating the extreme action of going on hunger strike should contemplate. First, are there any other out of the over 198 nonviolent actions that can be taken that should be tried before resorting to this life risking action? Secondly, who are you trying to persuade into changing their behavior?  Do they care whether you live or die? Third, is this a life or death situation that requires placing your life on the line? Finally, can you succeed in achieving your objective.

Meanwhile let us make sure that the world knows of the plight of Leopoldo Lopez and the many other political prisoners in Venezuela and their struggle for freedom and justice. 

Letter by Leopoldo Lopez announcing his hunger strike on May 24, 2015

Cubazuela: The hunger strikes of Franklin Brito and Luis Enrique Santos

Former Cuban political prisoner Luis Enrique Santos Caballero evicted, humiliated and left homeless along with the rest of his family for political reasons in Cuba by State Security is slowly dying.  Luis Enrique began a hunger strike on May 24, 2013 demanding housing for him and his family. His health was compromised to begin with, he has only one kidney. He lost consciousness today and is said to be near death.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that such a case has drawn international attention. In Cuba the names of Pedro Luis Boitel and Orlando Zapata Tamayo are remembered as is Bobby Sands of Northern Ireland (who the Cuban dictatorship built a memorial to in Cuba) and Venezuela's Franklin Brito joined this select grouping that paid the ultimate price when engaging in a hunger strike on August 31, 2010. Unlike the other men mentioned above, Franklin was not in prison at the time of his hunger strike.

Franklin Brito was a farmer and a biologist whose land was expropriated by Hugo Chavez in 2000 according to CNN. Other news agencies place the date of expropriation anywhere between 2003 and 2004. He exhausted every recourse and was driven to the final option: the hunger strike in 2005
Brito began a series of hunger strikes that resulted in his death five years later.

On November 19, 2009 Franklin Brito in the midst of one of these hunger strikes, he explained what motivated him:

"I am not doing this strike for something material or because persons have behaved badly towards me - that one could say are corrupt. I am doing this strike for dignity and justice. I believe that these are the greatest values that a human being should have."

 Luis Enrique Santos Caballero like Franklin Brito is engaged in a hunger strike to defend his dignity and to demand justice for himself and his family. Both men are confronting regimes that claim to champion social and economic rights but in practice violate them as much as they violate civil and political rights. 

Sadly, as time passes the plight of the Cuban and Venezuelan peoples appears to become one. Let us pray that the struggle for dignity in the face of tyranny does not claim another casualty with Luis Enrique today as it did with Franklin Brito on August 31, 2010. 

Franklin Brito One year later: Venezuela's Orlando Zapata Tamayo

"I’ve learned of the death of hunger striker Franklin Brito. It appears that Hugo Chavez now has his own Orlando Zapata" - Yoani Sanchez, August 31, 2010 on twitter

Franklin Brito ( September 5, 1960 – August 30, 2010)

They died less than seven months apart. One by vocation was a carpenter and a handy man who had grown up under communism in Cuba. The other a farmer, biologist and landowner who'd come of age in Venezuela under Chavez and his brand of 21st Century socialism. Both were human rights defenders who after exhausting all other non-violent options resorted to the option of last resort: the hunger strike.

Franklin Brito's last interview

Prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo died on February 23, 2010 after suffering physical and psychological torture and Franklin Brito died one year ago today on August 30, 2010. His land seized by the Chavista regime and his ability to provide for his family crippled. The politicized courts unwilling to provide a just decision. He began series of protests and demonstrations that ended in a hunger strike to the death. In his last interview, Franklin Brito called on Venezuelans to be the authors of their own destiny and not to rely on the politicians. One year after his death, it is worthwhile to remember this principled man and to defend him against the slanders and libels of the emerging totalitarian regime in Venezuela.

Franklin Brito: A Martyr for Liberty and Human Rights in Venezuela

"I’ve learned of the death of hunger striker Franklin Brito. It appears that Hugo Chavez now has his own Orlando Zapata" - Yoani Sanchez, August 31, 2010 on twitter










(Above) Franklin Brito before and after engaging in 8 hunger strikes

Hunger strikes are the ultimate recourse in the arsenal of non-violent resistance, and over the years around the world it has succeeded at times but in places like Cuba, Ireland, and now in Venezuela a human being has died on hunger strike.

In Cuba the names of Pedro Luis Boitel and Orlando Zapata Tamayo are remembered as is Bobby Sands of Northern Ireland (who the Cuban dictatorship built a memorial to in Cuba) and now Venezuela's Franklin Brito has joined this select grouping that demonstrates the ultimate price when engaging in a hunger strike.

Franklin Brito was a farmer and a biologist whose land was expropriated by Hugo Chavez in 2000 according to CNN. Other news agencies place the date of expropriation anywhere between 2003 and 2004. He exhausted every recourse and was driven to the final option: the hunger strike in 2005.El Universal out of Caracas offers a chronology of Brito's odyssey. In the video below taken October 5, 2009 on day 93 of a hunger strike Franklin was carrying out in which he explains how all of this began:



Despite its widespread violation there is a right to private property enshrined both in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Organization of American States' American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. It is an internationally recognized human right and clearly stated:

Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article XXIII of the American Declaration states: "Every person has a right to own such private property as meets the essential needs of decent living and helps to maintain the dignity of the individual and of the home."

When Franklin Brito's family said that he stood for "the struggle of the Venezuelan people for property rights, access to justice, for living in freedom," they were simply stating the facts of the matter. In the video below taken on November 19, 2009 Franklin Brito declares that:

"I am not doing this strike for something material or because persons have behaved badly towards me - that one could say are corrupt. I am doing this strike for dignity and justice. I believe that these are the greatest values that a human being should have."

The Venezuelan tyranny* said that Franklin Brito was mentally unstable because he had sown up his mouth and cut off one of his fingers on live television. The Red Cross, Caracas Clinical Hospital and the Venezuelan Psychologists' Association said that Franklin Brito was of sound mind.

The tactics Mr. Chavez is using in questioning the mental stability of his adversaries, and smearing them, even in death, is straight out of his Cuban mentor's repertoire. Friends and family of Franklin Brito had best organize the facts and evidence surrounding his case protect it and duplicate it so that it cannot be seized and destroyed. They should engage in speaking out anywhere and everywhere to counter the avalanche of slander and libel from regime apologists against a man who can no longer defend himself.

Hugo Chávez has nationalized 2.5 million hectares as part of a “land reform drive.” The so-called reform, combined with increased government control over the economy, has exacerbated food shortages in Venezuela with Chavez forced to step up imports despite abundant land and a tropical climate just like Cuba did years ago.

It is not madness to take extremes in the defense of liberty and justice, but it is madness to repeat the same failed policies that have bankrupted and destroyed nations the world over and expect a different outcome in your own homeland.

"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

*Use of the term tyranny is not a rhetorical exercise but defines what Hugo Chavez's democratically elected government has descended into a tyranny. There are two dictionary definitions of tyranny which are often related to each other. For example in the case of Cuba with Fidel Castro it is the state ruled by an absolute ruler but in the case of Venezuela it is the "arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority" that applies.