When he was in prison, Caro listened to the speeches of
Hugo Chávez, who he resonated with because Chávez had also been imprisoned around the same time and because he didn't like politicians, thinking they were "thieves". However, when he left prison after Chávez took office, he "felt that [Chávez] was going the wrong way". In 2007 he began working for
Popular Will, and in 2009 he officially joined the party. In 2012, he was an advisor for the prison measures as part of
Henrique Capriles' presidential campaign. Caro was first elected as an alternate deputy in 2015. One of the first things he mentioned as wanting the Assembly to achieve was an Amnesty Law to release all political prisoners. having never had a trial. In early March 2018, Caro was transported to another prison without the government informing anyone.
Amnesty International then began investigating and asking for information, and a video of Caro in prison was quickly released to make certain his situation known. Caro was released in the second round of
political prisoners after
Maduro won re-election in 2018, all of them directly transferred to hospitals. He was weak and unhealthy when he was released, having suffered from
gastrointestinal and bone problems during his time incarcerated, and said that he had spent a year isolated in a cell, sometimes going a whole month without being allowed out of it. He was also in the Fénix prison in
Lara during a riot where 11 men died. He announced that he wanted dialogue and reconciliation of the opposition Assembly and the government, to help release more political prisoners. The terms of his release mean he is still considered on probation and has to report his presence every 30 days, as well as not speak about his case.
Activism Caro has always fought for human rights, with his sister describing him as a "social activist", When
Juan Requesens was
detained and humiliated, Caro made an impassioned speech in the
National Assembly on 14 August 2018, where he stripped to his underwear (like Requesens had been in a prison video) and said that a man's dignity is not measured by his state of dress, as part of national underwear protests in solidarity with his fellow politician.
2019 disappearance and detentions During the
2019 presidential crisis, Caro said that he did not want help from the "
gringos" in the
United States or military intervention to help Venezuela, saying "I am going to free my country". He later told
Te Lo Cuento that "speaking in the first person" was a mistake, and that he meant all Venezuelans. On 26 April 2019, Caro was detained a second time. The National Assembly considers that the arrest goes against Caro's parliamentary immunity. UN representative Ravina Shamdasani insisted that Caro was not brought before a tribunal in the 48 hours after his detention as required by Venezuelan law. Guaidó, the National Assembly, OAS General Secretary Almagro and the UN Human Rights office condemned the new arrest as a violation of parliamentary immunity. On 15 May, the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued a protective measure on Gilber Caro and gave 7 working days to Maduro administration to report on Caro's well-being and process. By 24 May, Caro had still not been seen; his lawyer was informed that he was held at
El Helicoide, but when people tried to reach him the guards at Helicoide said he was not being held there. One of Caro's sisters suggested that they were not allowed to see him because the guards "did something to him". On 30 May, magistrates announced that Caro would have a court hearing that day, to happen at Fort Paramacay in
Naguanagua, but this did not happen; the court explained that it is not permitted to transport prisoners from Helicoide to Paramacay and so the hearing could not happen. On the evening of Monday 17 June, Caro was released. He was received by delegates from the
Grupo de Boston, though his condition is unknown.
Voice of America report that his freedom comes only a few days before the UN Human Rights Commission's planned inspection on 19 June. Though his lawyers informed the press, the Grupo de Boston were the first to know of his release. On 20 December, Caro was detained for a third time. Four other lawmakers were also indicted in December; Popular Will consider that Caro's detention is part of a series of actions by the Maduro administration to force a boycott of the
reelection of Juan Guaidó as President of the National Assembly on 5 January 2020. FAES operations usually focus on poor neighborhoods and the squad has been accused of carrying thousands of extrajudicial killings. This arrest would be the first time that FAES deals with a public figure. == 2024 arrest in Miami ==