Fifty-four days after being released from prison, Emirlendris Benítez is focusing her efforts on managing a complex medical condition that keeps her in a wheelchair.
From Caracas, where she is staying temporarily to attend consultations and undergo medical tests before returning to Barquisimeto, the merchant and former political prisoner spoke by phone with Efecto Cocuyo, stating that she hopes to be granted full freedom at her next court hearing.
Benítez, who spent eight years arbitrarily detained and was sentenced in 2022 to the maximum penalty of 30 years without any evidence linking her to the 2018 drones case, is dealing with the aftermath of her confinement at the National Women's Orientation Institute (Inof) and the torture she suffered during her initial detention at the Dgcim.
Diagnoses, chronic pain, and physical therapy
Benítez explained that she has already begun receiving medical care and is awaiting results for a conclusive diagnosis, which will determine whether she needs to undergo surgery.
"Several conditions have come up. I'm really waiting for the results so they can give me the diagnosis, because what they told me is that it will require surgery. But since I'm quite young, they told me that with physical therapy and such I can keep making progress, with a good regimen of medications and vitamins," she explained.
When detailing her health conditions, Benítez listed: "First, chronic fibromyalgia, hypertension, I have a lumbar hernia at L4-L5 and S1-S3, wear on both discs, and migration of biopolymers," she said. Regarding these ailments, she clarified that she already knew about them before entering prison, but inside the detention centers her complaints were dismissed. "You know how it all is—they always say no, that you're faking it, that there's nothing wrong with you, that's how they are."
Although she would love to go back to working as a merchant, her current physical condition does not allow it because "the way I am right now, the first thing is my health, so I can get up out of this wheelchair and carry on with my life, get back to work." To cover medical expenses, she has had to turn to the public health system and rely on help from family and friends.
Next hearing
Despite having left the penitentiary, her judicial case has not concluded, so she must appear before the courts every three months, as stipulated in her release order.
"It would be on November 14, God willing," she specified about the date set for her appearance in court.
From that new hearing, she hopes to be granted full freedom. "The truth is, one is innocent, one shouldn't have to pay for something one hasn't done. And well, those were eight years of my life lost because I wasn't with my family. And so many things happened to me," she said.
Family support amid health complications
The reunion with her loved ones has been a relief after nearly a decade of separation, especially for her youngest son and for her sister, Melania Leal, who continuously denounced the irregularities in the case.
"My son is super happy. My sister, who has fought tirelessly, is also happy. My nephews and nieces, everyone is happy," she commented.
Alongside her own recovery, Benítez's return home is also marked by her parents' physical decline after eight years of separation. Her mother suffers from a prolapse, while her father has a hernia, remains with a medical tube, and is facing a tumor in his prostate.
"My mom and dad are also in a somewhat deteriorated health condition," she concluded.