GENEVA — Independent U.N. human rights experts said Tuesday in a new report that their findings show the Venezuelan government is stepping up its use of the “severe and most violent” repressive measures. July presidential election controversyThe official results of the July 28 vote have been widely criticized as undemocratic, opaque and primarily aimed at keeping President Nicolas Maduro in power.
In its report, a UN-backed fact-finding mission on Venezuela commissioned by the Human Rights Council condemned human rights abuses by the country’s security forces, including arbitrary detention, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence, which it said “taken together constitute a crime against humanity: politically motivated persecution.”
“During the period covered by this report, and particularly following the July 28, 2024 presidential elections, the state reinvigorated and strengthened the harshest and most violent mechanisms of its repressive apparatus,” said the experts in the report, which covered the year ending Aug. 31.
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The findings reflect concerns about Venezuela and its democracy from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Human Rights Watch and others, including over the crackdown before and after the highly anticipated vote and the subsequent crackdown that followed. Venezuelan opposition exile Leader Edmundo Gonzalez.
Marta Bariñas, head of the expert team, said Venezuelan authorities acknowledged arresting more than 2,200 people between July 29 and August 6.
“Of these, we have confirmed the arrest of at least 158 children, some with disabilities,” Valiñas told reporters at a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, noting that some were accused of serious crimes such as terrorism.
“This phenomenon is new and extremely worrying,” she said. “We are facing a systematic, concerted and deliberate repression by the Venezuelan government, a response to a deliberate plan to silence all dissent.”
Among them are Three Americans were recently detainedOn September 14, the government announced the arrest of three suspects, two of Venezuelan nationality, two of Spanish nationality and one of Czech nationality, in November 1994 for plotting to destabilize Venezuela through “acts of violence,” adding that hundreds of weapons had been seized.
One of the Americans is a sailor in the U.S. Navy. He was detained earlier this month. US officials confirmed to CBS News that the sailor was visiting the US on a personal trip and was a petty officer first class, a former Navy SEAL assigned to the West Coast team, according to US officials.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Commission, dominated by Maduro’s supporters, announced that he won the election with 52% of the vote, but opposition supporters claim they have collected tally sheets from 80% of the country’s electronic voting machines showing that González won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.
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Following global condemnation of the lack of transparency, Maduro asked Venezuela’s Supreme Court, whose members are aligned with the ruling party, to audit the results, which reaffirmed Maduro’s victory.
The independent experts, who do not represent the United Nations, made up the commission of inquiry established in 2019. Over the years, they have reported on the Maduro regime’s human rights abuses in Venezuela, including suspected crimes against humanity. This report, their fifth, condemned the government’s efforts to crush peaceful opposition to the regime.
The judicial system, led by the Supreme Court, is “clearly subordinate to the interests of President Maduro and his inner circle” and serves as a “key instrument” in the plan to suppress all forms of political and social opposition, the report said.
Hours after Mr. Maduro declared victory, thousands of people took to the streets across Venezuela. The protests were largely peaceful, but demonstrators toppled statues of Mr. Maduro’s late predecessor, Hugo Chavez, hurled stones at police officers and buildings, and set fire to police motorcycles and government propaganda.
The Maduro regime responded forcefully to the protests, with arbitrary detentions and prosecutions, and a campaign urging citizens to report relatives, neighbors or other acquaintances who took part in the protests or who questioned their results.
Patricia Tapata Valdés, a member of the team of experts, said they had confirmed that at least 143 arrests involved members of seven opposition parties, including 66 leaders of political movements.
“The politically motivated persecution is clear,” she said. “These figures represent a level of repression not seen since 2019.”
While acknowledging limitations in gathering information in the post-election period, the independent experts said their report was based on interviews with 383 people and a review of court records and other documents.
The experts said their requests for information to Venezuelan authorities had been “ignored”, despite a call for cooperation from the Human Rights Council, which is made up of the UN’s 47 rotating member states.
