An Early Test of America’s Control Over Venezuela

On October 1, fireworks soared from El Helicoide, a sprawling prison complex that spirals around a hill in the center of Caracas. To many of those who knew what went on inside the structure, the spectacle was sickening.

At El Helicoide, guards reportedly hang political prisoners by their limbs and force them to plunge their face into bags of feces. Venezuela has quite a few places like it: Locking up critics was a key feature of President Nicolás Maduro’s governing style. His regime jailed thousands of them—opposition leaders...