UN accuses Maduro of perpetrating crimes against humanity

MADRID (EUROPA PRESS) -The UN mission examining the situation in Venezuela accused the government of Nicolás Maduro of plunging the country into a “climate of fear” in which anyone could be a victim of the repressive apparatus, to the point that evidence already shows a level of persecution equivalent to crimes against humanity.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission denounced that the Chavista government has “dramatically” intensified repression to “crush” any hint of dissent, within an escalation that reached new levels following the presidential elections of July 28, which have resulted in the exile of the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.

In the run-up to those elections, between December 2023 and March 2024, at least 48 people were arrested for alleged plots against the government and in July this year alone more than 120 people were taken into custody in the context of the opposition’s election campaign.

Following the election, authorities made more than 2,000 arrests in just a few weeks, leading to violations of due process and confirmation that the entire judicial system, with the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) at its head, “is clearly subordinated to the interests of the executive branch and serves as a key instrument in its plan to repress all forms of political and social opposition,” according to the report.

Venezuela is immersed in “one of the most serious human rights crises in recent history,” as the abuses that have already been documented, including cases of politically motivated persecution — a type of crime against humanity — “are not isolated or random acts” but are part of “a continuous and coordinated plan to silence, discourage and repress” the opposition.

The president of the Fact-Finding Mission, Marta Baliñas, denounced “an intensification of the repressive apparatus,” despite “multiple” calls from within Venezuela and also from the international community.

Even before the elections, Maduro and other senior Chavista officials warned of a possible bloodbath if they did not win. Another of the group’s experts, Francisco Cox, recalled that the mission itself had already feared that the government could “activate its repressive apparatus” in the electoral context. “And that is precisely what we are seeing now,” he said.