What is known about the cancellations of Venezuelan passports?

After the protests over the results of the July 28 elections released by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared Nicolás Maduro as the winner despite the fact that the Venezuelan opposition showed evidence of Edmundo González’s victory, protests increased. complaints of massive and abrupt annulments of Venezuelan passports to activists, journalists, politicians and other citizens.

Cancellation of the passport, a government measure against dissent

Although This is not a new practice.Since the ruling government has been implementing it against its dissidents since 2015, the number of complaints increased considerably after the presidential elections.

In August, when complaints about the annulments of Venezuelan passports that were still valid flooded social networks, Espacio Público documented at least 16 cases that occurred just days after the elections, while the Peace Laboratory records were slightly larger, with a total of 25 cases at that time.

NGOs and activists warned that although there is no evidence that the annulments are massive, it is possible that there are many more cases than recorded. However, citizens reserve their complaints for fear of even greater reprisals from the authorities.

Most of the cases have occurred to Venezuelans who are outside the country, where the process to request or renew the document can be very cumbersome. Especially in those countries with which Venezuela has decided to break relations after the presidential elections and in which, therefore, there is no diplomatic representation.

The scenario for these Venezuelans is further complicated by the new measures imposed by the authorities since the end of September. And it is that To enter the country by air, you must have a passport and a valid identity card. If your documents have expired, you must apply for a safe-conduct pass at the consulates or embassies of the country where you are located, which has a value of $60 and is valid for a single trip.

This extra expense is added to the cost of the passport itself, which they must process once they arrive in the country or else they will not be able to leave. It has a price of approximately 215 dollars, being one of the most expensive in Latin America.

Saime sources at the Maiquetía Airport, the media reported, said that The decision to annul Venezuelan passports does not come from regional offices but from senior officials of the system.

In most cases, people find out about the annulment when they try to go through immigration control.

Although the Saime can cancel passports at the request of judicial bodies or when a new passport is requested before the expiration date of the previous one, the reason behind these recent cancellations is a cause for concern.

Like this, without warning and without protest, because they feel like it, because it’s out of their league: to screw around, well. 😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/S8c7fjx703

— Andrés Caleca (@ajcaleca) August 11, 2024

Reports of cancellations of Venezuelan passports

Days after the elections, journalist Nerio Fuenmayor, residing in Miami, denounced in several international media the cancellation of his passport, which was valid until February 2025, as well as those of other colleagues.

Jefferson Díaz, a Venezuelan journalist who lives in Ecuador, also pointed out that not only his passport was annulled, but also his wife and minor children. He never received formal notification or information about the reason for this annulment, but believes it could be related to his activism on immigration issues.

“The Venezuelan consulates are closing, they are closing them in the world, they are leaving Venezuelan migrants completely defenseless,” Díaz told Noticias 23 Miami.

The coordinator of the opposition party Voluntad Popular in Ecuador, Luis Magallanes, also spoke with CNN and sent a screenshot of his recently issued passport, which now appears canceled on the portal of the Administrative Service of Migration and Immigration (Saime).

“I went to Saime because the page was collapsed and when I entered it said that my passport had been cancelled. It expires in 2032, I took it out in 2022, it was valid, I always leave the country to forums or events to make Venezuela’s struggle visible,” he said.

From Chile, Romer Rubio used his Instagram account to report a similar situation. His passport issued in 2023 and which was valid until 2033 was annulled.

In the case of Chile, “the affected people were active political activists in Venezuela,” he assured CNN.

The Venezuelan political leader Andrés Caleca, who was a candidate in the opposition primaries, also reported the annulment of his travel document. On the social network X he shared a screenshot where you can see that His passport was issued in 2022 and was valid until 2032, however, in the Saime system it appears with the status of canceled.

The same thing happened to activist Carlos Villavicencio. «I want to denounce that once again the regime attacks the Venezuelans who are abroad by canceling passports. My passport expired in 2033 and it appears canceled on the Saime page,” he said on social networks.

Until now, Saime has not issued statements about Venezuelan passports canceled in recent months.

I want to denounce that once the regime attacks the Venezuelans who are abroad, canceling passports that are still valid, as is my case, my passport expired in 2033 and on the Saime page it appears canceled pic.twitter.com/8LdtCYngVg

— Carlos Villavicencio (@CarlosVzla_) August 8, 2024

When does passport cancellation legally apply?

The website of the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Immigration (Saime) establishes that The request to cancel a Venezuelan passport must be made by the owner of the document in case of theft, theft, loss, deterioration or use of all pages.

The cancellation of the document must be carried out by the owner himself through the website https://tramites.saime.gob.ve. Depending on the case, the citizen must go or not to one of the Saime headquarters.

The Saime also has the power to cancel the passport in case of expiration, failure to comply with legal obligations and improper use. According to the organization’s website, this measure is taken to prevent the citizen from leaving Venezuela illegally, either because he is a fugitive from justice, uses the document fraudulently or because it has not been renewed.

The Venezuelan passport can also be canceled if there is an error in the personal data, but after cancellation it must be reissued. Furthermore, the document can be annulled if the citizen renounces his Venezuelan nationality.