El Helicoide, Venezuela’s infamous political prison and torture centre, is set to close. Acting president Delcy Rodríguez announced plans on Friday to turn the massive building in Caracas into a "sports, cultural and commercial centre for police families and neighbouring communities." The structure, designed in the 1950s as a futuristic drive-through shopping centre, was never finished. Instead, it became a site where prisoners were tortured under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro's regimes. Rodríguez, who once oversaw the prison as Maduro’s vice-president, said the closure is part of reforms after Maduro was captured and sent to the US. However, activists question the real intent. Martha Tineo of NGO Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón said, "The horrors committed at El Helicoide have already been sufficiently documented and exposed by numerous human rights organisations and by a United Nations mission." She welcomes the shutdown but opposes turning it into a recreation centre. Instead, she wants it preserved as a memorial museum like Argentina’s former torture centre, Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (Esma). El Helicoide’s dark history includes use as a shelter in the 1970s, then as a haunt for crime, and later as a detention centre for political prisoners by Venezuela’s intelligence service, Sebin. Reports reveal torture methods such as electric shocks, beatings, and prolonged isolation. Engineer Angel Godoy spent nine months jailed there after being arrested for his role in monitoring Venezuela's disputed 2024 elections. Released in January, Godoy remains under court restrictions and urges the release of all political prisoners, estimated between 600 and 800. Rodríguez has promised an amnesty bill, though it excludes serious crimes and has yet to be voted on. Critics want those wrongfully imprisoned compensated and included in discussions. They also warn that a recent oil law, passed without public debate, signals continuation of old government practices. Marta Tineo said, "Trying to carry on as things were in the past would amount to confirmation that there is no real will for change from the government."