After a marathon hearing that lasted 12 hours -the only one held throughout the case-, Judge Alejandra Verónica Romero Castillo sealed the immediate fate of Rafael Tudares Bracho, son-in-law of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the elected president, who is now in exile in Spain after the fraud that deprived him of victory in the presidential elections of July 28, 2024. Remotely, via a video transmission, Romero Castillo sentenced Tudares to 30 years in prison, the maximum penalty stipulated by the current Venezuelan Constitution in effect since 1999.
In a country with a judicial system aligned with democratic standards, the process against Tudares would stand out for its irregularities. But this is the Venezuela of Nicolás Maduro, where anomalies are par for the course: the defendant underwent eleven months of enforced disappearance, effectively held hostage without the chance to see any family member. The case file was kept under wraps, protected by multiple barriers limiting access for the defense, which did not have a trusted attorney chosen by the accused. Ultimately, a hurried summary trial was rushed through, resulting in a sentence handed down by the President of the Third Trial Court with Jurisdiction in Terrorism-Related Crimes in the Criminal Judicial Circuit of Caracas, which pinned the crimes of terrorism and conspiracy on Rafael Tudares Bracho.
The ruling elevated the profile of Judge Romero Castillo in the eyes of the dwindling Venezuelan public, who since 2023, at just 30 years old, has been handling cases of political prisoners, approximately 40 from both civilian and military backgrounds.
Like most judges belonging to the antiterrorism court circuit, Judge Romero Castillo’s record is shrouded in calculated opacity. In the only photo circulating on social media where she appears, she is seen wearing a yellow blouse and black pants, with broad white-framed glasses, smiling alongside a group of public employees in the recognizable hallways of the Justice Palace in Caracas.
For the most part, what exists about her is a void so profound that it literally reflects on the door of the court she oversees, where her full name isn’t displayed. None of the appointments that should have propelled her rapid judicial career can be found in the Official Gazette. Only her record from the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security (IVSS) reveals that she began working in the Executive Directorate of the Judiciary (DEM) in December 2014, when she was 21 years old. However, there are no formal mentions of her time in the Secretary of Room 8 of the Court of Appeals, nor is there any public trace of her decisions as judge of the 29th Trial Court of the Criminal Circuit of Caracas, an instance where she assumed competencies to decide on terrorism cases even though it wasn’t created for that purpose.
In line with this enigma, there is no public documentation recording her appointment as judge of the Third Court with Jurisdiction in Terrorism, a position she took over in July 2023 from Aquiles Vera. An NGO, Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness (JEP), had to report that the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ, dominated by the government) had transferred the jurisdiction over terrorism functions to the 29th Trial Court of the Metropolitan Area of Caracas, then headed by Romero Castillo. The responsibility attributed to her reflects the early confidence she gained from the regime.
Until the End (of Legality) and Beyond
Born on January 3, 1993, Alejandra Verónica Romero Castillo graduated from the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) sometime between 2015 and 2019. Although the exact date of her graduation is unavailable, it is known that she received her degree, as her name and ID appear alongside the mention of “graduate” in the latest electoral bulletin for elections of UCV alumni representatives. Her affiliation number with the Institute of Social Security for Lawyers (Inpreabogado) could not be verified, although it is a requirement to practice law.
Backed by this vague identity, bordering on the clandestine, Romero Castillo perfectly fits the pattern the regime has followed to tailor its antiterrorism courts: hastily appointed judges who are relatively unknown, yet always ready to impose exemplary sentences.
Indeed, the case of Tudares Bracho is not the only example of punishment that the young judge has implemented.
For instance, on December 10, 2025, while Oslo celebrated the awarding of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, in Caracas the TSJ’s Criminal Chamber confirmed the sentence of 30 years in prison against Argenis Enrique Ugueto Benítez, Rigoberto Moreno Carmona, Darío Pastor Estrada Perozo -a neurodivergent attorney and member of the Encuentro Ciudadano party-, Robert José Franco Vallera -a trade union representative of the same political group- and Julio César Sánchez Arias, for allegedly planning a conspiracy to sabotage the installation of the National Assembly in January 2021. The initial sentence was the work of Alejandra Romero Castillo, who issued it on August 9, 2024.
In the hands of Romero Castillo are several high-profile cases, such as those of Rocío San Miguel, director of the NGO Control Ciudadano; journalist and activist Roland Carreño; human rights defender and director of NGO Fundaredes, José Javier Tarazona; and Nélida Sanchez, national coordinator of the electoral organization Súmate, founded in 2002 by current opposition leader, María Corina Machado.
Judge Romero Castillo also oversees emblematic trials involving military personnel, such as the cases Sukhoi, Brazalete Blanco (which led to the arrest of San Miguel), and Operación Aurora, and decides on at least four cases characterized by the practice of Sippenhaft (detention for family ties), a Nazi-like practice. Among this group, besides Tudares, arrested for being Edmundo González’s son-in-law, are Karen Nayarit Gómez Gutiérrez (Brazalete Blanco case), Yoshida María Vanegas Méndez, mother of Juan Carlos Monasterios; and Larry Arcesio Osorio Chía, brother of retired military representative of Fundaredes, Rubén Darío Osorio Chía.
Romero Castillo’s suitability for the position is questioned when considering the requirements laid out by the Organic Law of the TSJ: to be a judge in antiterrorism tribunals, a law degree and proper registration with the Bar Association and Inpreabogado are not enough; one must also have between three to five years of professional experience or a postgraduate degree in legal matters. While appointments are made by the Full Chamber of the TSJ, candidates must pass through public competitions that include medical and psychological evaluations, reviews of their recognized morality and impeccable conduct, and confirmations that they are not members of any political parties.
That which is required on paper, Romero Castillo does not meet. Armando.info found no trace of a postgraduate degree or any additional training program or public competition in which Romero Castillo has participated, except for the fact that the novice judge is currently pursuing a specialization, her first, at the state National Experimental University of Security (UNES).
An attorney consulted for this story explains that Romero Castillo’s profile fits the chavismo-madurismo pattern regarding the selection of those holding such positions. “That’s a common occurrence. When they appoint these judges assigned these special terrorism competencies, they’re perfect strangers, people without academic backgrounds or really young, like this woman. Such positions aren’t assigned through competitions, but rather by proven loyalty,” he says.
Alejandra Romero Castillo has a history of loyalty to chavismo, backed by a familial tie. She is the daughter of Brigadier General Jorge Alejandro Romero Castillo (and not Major General Orlando Romero Bolívar, Commander of the Bolivarian Militia, as some media incorrectly reported at the time of Tudares Bracho’s sentencing).
A graduate of the Bolivarian Military Aviation Academy (1985-1989), Jorge Romero Castillo (sharing the same last names as his children) was vice-rector of Integral Defense and vice-rector of the Guayana region of the National Experimental Polytechnic University of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (Unefa). He also presents himself on his Linkedin profile as director of Morality, Discipline, Law and Order at the Bolivarian Military Aviation Academy, located just outside Maracay, the capital of Aragua state. In September 2025, he assumed the general management of the General Cipriano Castro International Airport and the Paramillo airport, both located in the border state of Táchira adjoining Colombia.
Romero Castillo, along with his ex-wife, Dorys Simone Castillo Jaimes, and their three children, Alejandra Veronica, Jorge Luis, and Karina Aixa, registered a food-related company, Distribuidora de Alimentos Panchita C.A., headquartered in Cagua, Aragua state.
Karina Aixa, 38 years old, is a provider for the Venezuelan state, as indicated by her record in the National Contractors Registry (RNC). Besides the company she shares with her parents and siblings, she is president, founder and owns 50% of shares of Ingeniería e Inversiones AKR C.A., registered in 2016 also in Aragua, which offers professional engineering services.
In addition to these family connections, Judge Alejandra Romero Castillo is engaged to Carlos Omar Lingstuyl Gómez, interim assistant prosecutor of the 98th National Public Office in Human Rights Protection.
Armando.info requested information from the Executive Directorate of the Judiciary and the Supreme Court of Justice regarding the appointment and judicial career of Romero Castillo, but as of the time of this writing, no response has been received.
Fighting Alleged Terror with Real Terror
“When Roland Carreño’s trial was interrupted because the judge there was replaced, they called her to that court,” recalls another attorney, who only agreed to speak with Armando.info on the condition of anonymity. He describes Romero Castillo as “very shy, doesn’t look you in the face,” adding that she makes no effort to project the minimal rigor or decorum befitting a sitting judge. Other sources confirmed to Armando.info that despite her shyness, Romero Castillo does not hesitate to laugh out loud or whisper during a hearing. She even eats in plain sight.
While this is her personal hallmark, Romero Castillo meets the standard imposed by the regime for such a position, through its judicial arms. Her appointment was secret and sudden, and the court she oversees is prolific in irregularities.
A former political prisoner from El Helicoide, a known detention center and torture site for those opposed to Maduro’s regime, provided testimony regarding Romero Castillo’s methods. “I have not been allowed to see her and access to the case file has been denied. I can’t even get any written documents regarding my case. She refused to receive the motion I filed requesting to name a private attorney and was also the one who dictated precautionary measures [without due process],” he recounts.
Another attorney consulted explained that Romero Castillo conducts her functions by adopting the pattern of telematic presentations for political prisoners, which facilitates violations of due process. “Telematic hearings take place without the minimum necessary conditions. They should be at another court near the jurisdiction of the detention facility, but they are conducted in the detention center. There are no court officers, and detainees can’t express that they’ve been subjected to torture, assaults, or cruel and inhumane treatment (…) because they are in the detention center where their custodians have tortured them,” he explains. The non-fulfillment of publicity (i.e., the transcripts of the trial proceedings) is recurrent, he adds.
In general, the informality, urgencies, and arbitrariness of the terrifying anti-terrorism justice of chavismo-madurismo seem to obey a design rather than the individual tricks of judges.
The Third Trial Court with Jurisdiction in Terrorism, presided over by Romero Castillo, is just one of three terrorism tribunals created on October 17, 2012, by the Full Chamber of the TSJ, initially intended to process cases related to terrorism crimes as outlined in the Law Against Organized Crime and Terrorist Financing (Locdoft). But in practice, they constitute the jurisdiction that endorses the arbitrary expansion of the term “terrorism,” which has come to encompass political activism opposed to the chavista regime and human rights defenders, who have been especially harshly punished following the electoral fraud of July 28, 2024.
Facing these courts, all based in Caracas and directed by the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the TSJ, led by magistrate Elsa Gómez Moreno -who is close to Cilia Flores, the first lady of Venezuela or first combatant, in official jargon-, the Maduro regime appoints provisional or temporary judges at will, according to what six jurists consulted for this report observed and who prefer to remain anonymous for security reasons.
The system designed to process terrorism and related crimes has a clear structure: there are four control courts (that prepare cases and the supposed incriminating evidence), three trial courts (where the sentences are decided), two courts of appeal (where decisions of a trial court can theoretically be challenged), and one court for juveniles.
And just as clear, this structure also skirts the boundary of legality, as noted by one of the sources consulted by Armando.info for this investigation, who has assisted several families of political prisoners processed in these courts.
The lawyer explains that while they operate with equivalent servitude toward the regime, “the law on Violence against Women mandates that courts in this area should be created; the Organic Law for the Protection of Children, Girls, and Adolescents instructs the opening of special courts for them; the Military Court, through the Organic Code of Military Justice, likewise. But the Law Against Organized Crime does not establish the creation of special courts for terrorism.” The source insists that “there shouldn’t be any courts with jurisdiction over terrorism since the law does not provide for it. This was created by a resolution of the TSJ, and that’s why they take away, remove, and appoint as they please.” Consequently, their very existence would be unconstitutional, rendering their decisions null and void. But this inherent flaw does not prevent these courts, like the one presided over by Alejandra Romero Castillo, from operating at full speed and at the regime’s demand.
