Strong report on human rights violations in Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela

The human rights situation in Venezuela has not experienced significant changes, with reports of violations, including extrajudicial executions, torture and arbitrary detentions by the security forces of the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, remaining critical. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Provea and the Gumilla Center documented hundreds of murders in security operations, with a high percentage of the victims being young men from poor areas, according to the annual report of the North American Department of State. Additionally, the Use of Lethal Force Monitor recorded 432 deaths involving security forces through August alone, with the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) leading in number of cases.

The actions of non-state armed groups and criminal gangs also contribute to the chaos, involved in violence, human trafficking and exploitation of indigenous communities, as is the case of the Yanomami. Accusations of forced recruitment of children by these illicit armed groups were pointed out, even presenting a determination by the Secretary of State that Venezuela supported such practices during the period from April 2022 to March 2023, according to the report accessed by Infobae.

The Penal Forum and the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy denounced hundreds of cases of torture that were not reported for fear of reprisals. Victims were often subjected to cruel treatment such as suffocation, electric shocks and broken bones, highlighting the impunity with which Maduro’s forces operate.

“The Maduro-friendly Ombudsman’s Office did not publish statistics on complaints of torture by the police during the year. Several NGOs reported cases of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” says the report released by Secretary Antony Blinken. “Human rights groups and the FFM reported that Maduro representatives continued to influence the attorney general and public defenders to conduct investigations in a selective and subjective manner. National human rights NGOs Penal Forum and Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy maintained that hundreds of cases of torture went unreported because victims feared reprisals.”

The text continues: “Sometimes, judges ordered preventive detention in facilities of the National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) or the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), even when the detainees alleged before the court that they had been tortured or showed signs compatible with torture.”

“Media and NGOs reported that pro-Maduro law enforcement and military officers regularly beat and humiliated suspects during arrests. Cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against prisoners were also reported. People aligned with Maduro subjected detainees to asphyxiation, electric shocks, broken bones, and hanging by their limbs. Detainees were also subjected to low temperatures, sensory deprivation, and sleep deprivation; They were forced to spend hours on their knees and handcuffed for long periods of time. Some detainees and their families reported receiving death threats. The detainees reported that security forces supporting Maduro transferred them from detention centers to homes and other clandestine places where abuses were committed. Cruel treatment often involved denying prisoners medical care and keeping them in solitary confinement for long periods. NGOs reported that some detainees had been victims of sexual and gender violence by security units,” the text states.

Disappearances

Regarding the disappearances, there were several organizations that denounced this parastatal activity to silence or persecute opponents. “The national human rights NGO FundaRedes documented 63 disappearances or kidnappings between January and March in the border states of Amazonas, Apure, Bolívar, Falcón, Táchira and Zulia, and 27 disappearances or kidnappings in these and six other states between April and June. Most of the victims were men. In many cases, FundaRedes reported that the perpetrators were criminal organizations dedicated to extortion. In 2022, FundaRedes registered 80 disappearances of women on the border with Colombia. FundaRedes noted that it is likely that not all disappearances are reported due to fear of reprisals or distrust in the institutions controlled by Maduro. According to FundaRedes investigations, security agents were complicit with irregular armed groups and criminal gangs in committing human rights abuses, including disappearances.”

The report continues: “In August, the National Committee of Victims of Forced Disappearances off the Coast of Venezuela protested the lack of progress in investigations into the disappearance at sea of ​​150 migrants since 2015. Maduro’s representatives continued to refuse to allow The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will visit the country to carry out investigations. In 2022, the Working Group reported 29 pending cases of forced or involuntary disappearances.”

Freedom of expression

The State Department report also shows the deterioration that the regime presented in terms of freedom of expression: “The law punished insults to the president with sentences of six to 30 months in prison without bail, and insults to government officials with lesser penalties. lower rank.”

“The Constitutional Law against Hate for Political Coexistence and Tolerance (law against hate) stipulated prison sentences of up to 20 years. Although the stated purpose of the law was to ‘promote peace and tolerance’, NGOs observed that the vaguely worded law was used to silence free speech activists and journalists. The law was also used to limit their rights upon release, prohibiting international travel and requiring regular court appearances. OHCHR documented nine cases of people, including human rights defenders and journalists, being charged or prosecuted under the law. According to the human rights NGO Espacio Público, in the last five years, 83 people were unjustly accused under this legislation, including public officials, journalists and members of NGOs,” the investigation indicates regarding the human rights situation in Venezuela in 2023.

In the workplace, significant violations of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining stand out, exacerbated by support for “parallel unions” related to the government and the use of anti-terrorist laws to persecute activists. The International Labor Organization has expressed concern about interference in union elections and the situation of up to 40% of the working population in the informal sector, where labor laws are generally not enforced.

Regarding the LGBTQI+ community, discriminatory attacks by the government and aligned actors were reported, including violence against transgender women. Despite reports of practices such as conversion therapies, Maduro has made no efforts to adequately recognize or protect this vulnerable population.

Maduro and his regime continue to receive international condemnation, including reports from the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission and investigations by the International Criminal Court, for their role in perpetuating a cycle of unprecedented abuses in the country. Source: Infobae.

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