A/HRC/45/CRP.11 term enforced disappearance and officers at FAES headquarters in Cuaricuao were involved in third short term enforced disappearance in December 2019. 448. The Mission considers that the repeated deprivation of liberty and periods of short term enforced disappearances suffered by Mr. Caro, coupled with the precarious conditions of detention – notably in the so-called “corridor of oblivion” within Fenix prison – and the long period of isolation and incommunicado detention amount to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. CASE 4: Steyci Escalona 449. Steyci Escalona is a Venezuelan who has lived in Switzerland since 2010. Ms. Escalona has been associated with the Voluntad Popular party since 2014, acting as the party’s representative in Switzerland. She joined the Voluntad Popular party following her friendship with Gilber Caro. Ms. Escalona travelled regularly to Venezuela from Switzerland. During a visit in December 2016, she met Gilber Caro, who had been a National Assembly deputy since 2015. The Arrest 450. In January 2017, Ms. Escalona accompanied Gilber Caro and others, including her brother, on a trip to Cúcuta in Colombia. Ms. Escalona told the Mission that she had wanted to see how the humanitarian corridor was operating at the border. The group left Caracas on 5 January 2017 in a four-car convoy.970 451. According to Ms. Escalona, a few days into the trip, Mr. Caro’s colleagues informed him that SEBIN was looking for him.971 On one occasion, during a stop between Mérida and Caracas, Ms. Escalona noticed a police patrol car filming the group. The group took a wrong turn while returning to Caracas via Valencia on 10 January 2017, so Ms. Escalona and Mr. Caro spent the night in Puerto Cabello. 452. The following day, 11 January 2017, Ms. Escalona and Mr. Caro left their hotel at about 9 a.m. At around 11 a.m., they arrived at La Entrada toll road, a few kilometres before Naguanagua municipality, Carabobo state. Mr. Caro took the truck lane, as the other lanes were blocked by a police checkpoint.972 453. While approaching the checkpoint, Ms. Escalona telephoned a lawyer with the Voluntad Popular party. At the checkpoint, about 10 officers (later identified as SEBIN officers from Naguanagua) approached the car. Some were wearing balaclavas. An officer in a black uniform informed Mr. Caro that had to search the car, saying that they had information about a suspicious car with similar characteristics. 454. The lawyer recommended that Mr. Caro stay in the car as he had parliamentarian immunity, but under pressure from the SEBIN officers, Mr. Caro alighted. The officers instructed Ms. Escalona to roll down the car windows, before letting her leave the vehicle. 973 455. Ms. Escalona was about five metres away from the car when she noticed a man dressed in white tinkering near the passenger’s door. She believes that this is when the SEBIN officers planted explosives in the car. Shortly afterwards, the officers announced that they had found a box of explosives on the passenger seat. Ms. Escalona told Mr. Caro not to touch the box, so as not to leave fingerprints on it. The formal accusation later said that an automatic rifle was also found, but Ms. Escalona does not recall the officers saying anything about this at the time.974 456. The SEBIN officers then arrested Ms. Escalona and Mr. Caro and put them into a car. During the arrest, an officer told Ms. Escalona there were three cars from Caracas supervising 970 971 972 973 974 110 Mission interview with Ms. Escalona on 17 June 2020. Ibid. According to the police report mentioned in the accusation, Mr. Caro’s car was stopped and checked because he was driving in the heavy vehicle lane. Document on file with the Mission. In one picture taken by Ms. Escalona during the arrest, the fact that both windows of the car were completely open is visible. The picture is on file with the Mission. Mission interview with Ms. Escalona on 17 June 2020.