State terrorism in Venezuela: report documents abuses by Maduro government after elections

The report Post-election and Human Rights Crisis 2024 in Venezuelaprepared by the organization Human Rights in Venezuela in Movement, reveals that There is state terrorism in the country and that the Violations of citizens by the government of Nicolás Maduro have intensified after the presidential elections of July 28.

At least 21.7% of the articles of the Venezuelan Constitution have been repealed by the governmentwidely eroding democratic institutions and leading to the inability to exercise the rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and association, among many others, according to an analysis by the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America and the organizations that accompanied this work, whose subtitle is “The black report of the dictatorship 2024″in reference to the book that was secretly published by the Venezuelan journalist and writer José Agustín Catalá in 1952.

The document notes that before the presidential elections in Venezuela, 169 people were arbitrarily detained for political reasons. One of these cases is that of human rights defender Rocío San Miguel.

The report highlights that The conditions under which the electoral process took place in Venezuela were not transparent or fair. Some 49 people have reportedly been arrested for supplying goods and services to Edmundo González Urrutia’s campaign, while 24 establishments have reportedly been sanctioned for this reason.

State terrorism in Venezuela intensified after the elections

After July 28, “the popular mobilization in reaction to the failure to recognize the popular will was addressed by the government through a combination of hard and soft methods, as diagnosed by the United Nations Independent Fact-Finding Mission,” the document highlights.

“In order to neutralize the protests in the short term, the authorities ordered a massive and fierce repression, in which between 24 and 26 people lost their lives in the context of demonstrations. As of August 29, there were 1,590 detainees confirmed by NGOs, 86.1% men and 13.9% women,” the main figures of the document indicate.

The report notes that the pattern of short-term detentions is worrying, denial of representation of detainees by their trusted lawyersthe massive application of anti-terrorism legislation, the holding of virtual hearings in summary trials and the deprivation of liberty to the detriment of adolescents and people with disabilities.

The arrests of members of other opposition movements are also notable. This is the case of Biagio Pilieri, national coordinator of the Convergencia party, from Yaracuy, who was arrested on August 28 in Caracas along with his son Jesús Pilieri and two other people. On August 29, his house, family businesses and other assets were raided in the municipalities of Bruzual and Paez. This would be the second arbitrary arrest that he and his family have experienced, because more than 15 years ago he had also been deprived of his freedom when he was a councilor in Chivacoa.

They ask the international community to exert pressure in the face of abuses in Venezuela

The 132-page report, which He detailed the reasons why it is considered that there is state terrorism in Venezuelacalls on the international community to maintain mediation efforts and exert diplomatic pressure on the Venezuelan authorities, without ignoring the individual recognition of those responsible for human rights violations.

“The document calls for the inclusion of the Venezuelan issue in the CELAC-European Union Summit to be held in Colombia in 2025; for social organizations and regional NGOs to develop initiatives to name and shame human rights violators in Venezuela, as well as experiences of solidarity with national organizations working on the ground in more restrictive conditions and, finally, for the international community to recognize the victims of human rights violations as an interlocutor in the Venezuelan crisis,” the document concludes.