(NewsNation) — A former U.S. Marine who was imprisoned in Venezuela under President Nicolas Maduro’s rule says the country’s military agents were “bullies” and “liked hurting people when they can’t defend themselves.”
“The Venezuelan military intelligence are sadists,” Matthew Heath told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” on Monday.
Heath was arrested by the Venezuelan government in Sept. 2020 after being accused of acting as a terrorist and spying for President Trump. The U.S. State Department contended all along his detention was wrongful.
The former captive added that he endured horrible conditions while behind bars and was denied medical help.
“The prison’s terrible,” Heath said. “There’s torture. There are no human rights. It’s a maximum security prison in a very poor country. There’s not often running water. The food is unreliable. It’s brutal.”
Maduro was captured by U.S. forces on Saturday at the direction of Trump. Authorities said the U.S. military first conducted strikes on the capital city of Caracas before taking Maduro into custody.
Maduro faces four counts of narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
“It’s absolutely amazing to see President Maduro in handcuffs and flip-flops,” acknowledged Heath. “And I would definitely say that the tables have turned. And I hope that he looks forward to his years of imprisonment.”
Trump keeping people in charge ‘mindful’ of mistakes made in Iraq: Ex-Marine
Heath feels Trump’s decision to keep Venezuela’s political and military leaders in charge shows he is trying to avoid the mistakes made in Iraq 23 years ago by Ambassador Paul Bremer.
“Where we went in, we told the entire security force, the entire government of Iraq, you no longer have a job, you’re not allowed to work in the government anymore,” said Heath. “And it was a total disaster. That was a huge mistake.”
Despite the Trump administration not communicating its plan, it appears to Heath that they are “negotiating a transitional government.”
Heath also stated there are still five other Americans being held in Venezuela. He is working along with a nonprofit organization pushing for their release.
