César Aguilar Suárez underwent surgery by a doctor other than his treating physician, whose name was never disclosed to his family. Minutes later, the trusted doctor declared the surgery as “successful,” despite the patient experiencing irreversible brain collapse.
Written by: La Tabla/Data Journalism Platform 30 OCT 2025
A public complaint by Klara Emperatriz Aguilar Vásquez, daughter of a patient who died following robotic surgery at the Hospital de Clínicas Caracas, has cast a spotlight on the protocols of one of the most prestigious private medical institutions in the country.
Aguilar, who is the wife of Culture Minister Ernesto Villegas, shared a letter on social media detailing a series of irregularities she claims marked the surgical process and subsequent care of her father.
Operated by an unknown doctor
According to the testimony, the patient was operated on by a doctor different from his regular physician, and the family’s requests for the doctor’s name were met with silence. Despite this, it was the trusted doctor who, shortly after the surgery, informed the family that the operation had been “successful.”
In reality, the patient had experienced a brain collapse from which he never recovered.
Allegations of record manipulation
The complaint also points to alleged attempts to conceal key information. Aguilar claims that the records from the anesthesia machine were deleted and that the equipment reported to the Public Ministry did not match the one actually used during the procedure. These actions, she warns, could represent a deliberate attempt to obstruct the investigation.
The account adds that while the family awaited news in the room after the optimistic medical update, nurses arrived to collect the patient’s belongings, moving them to intensive care, which revealed the seriousness of his condition.
Aguilar insists that her father never woke up from the anesthesia and that the first in-person neurological evaluation took place three days after the operation.
Call for justice
The Public Ministry has opened an investigation into the case. However, Aguilar warned that the response cannot be limited to “ambiguities and self-praise.” “I demand truth and justice,” she wrote, emphasizing that her fight is for her father’s dignity and her family’s.
This case has sparked public outrage and reignited the debate over transparency and medical protocols in the Venezuelan private sector.