The former Minister of Finance and Chavista dissident spent 41 days under conditions of enforced disappearance, according to his family. Photo: Social Media
Guacamaya, July 23, 2025. On Wednesday morning, the release of former Minister of Finance and government dissident Rodrigo Cabezas was confirmed. His whereabouts had been unknown since his detention 41 days earlier. Economists Daniel Cadenas and Gerardo Casique, members of the Venezuelan Finance Observatory, were also released.
The news was first reported by the portal Bitácora Económica via its account on X, and was echoed minutes later by journalist Ibéyise Pacheco. Guacamaya was able to verify the information directly through sources connected to the case. Additionally, the committee for Cabezas’s release confirmed his release on its website, although access to the link was lost shortly afterward.
Alongside Cabezas, Daniel Cadenas and Gerardo Casique—members of the non-governmental organization Venezuelan Finance Observatory—were also freed. The three economists had been detained between June 11 and 13, as part of a wave of arrests particularly targeting the economic sector, especially in relation to the dissemination of financial and macroeconomic data.
Rodrigo Cabezas is an economist who graduated from the University of Zulia (LUZ) and served as Minister of Finance (2007–2008) during Hugo Chávez’s presidency. He is remembered as the architect of the first monetary reconversion during the Chavista era in 2008. He is also a university professor and former congressman. According to his family, he was detained on June 12 in Maracaibo without a court order.
Reports suggest that Cabezas led the reports issued by the Venezuelan Finance Observatory, with which Cadenas and Casique were also affiliated. Their arrests and subsequent disappearances sparked a wave of public outcry, supported by various figures, including opposition leader María Corina Machado.
At present, it remains unclear whether these releases are connected to the official announcement of 80 political detainees being freed. Meanwhile, opposition leaders have denounced a “revolving door” phenomenon, citing the detention of around 20 individuals nationwide, including student leader Simón Bolívar Obregón, a university councilor at UCV
