The American organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced the regime of dictator Nicolás Maduro of murders, forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests after the 2024 elections in Venezuela. The conclusions are in a report released last Wednesday (30).
In the document, there are also stimuli for other governments to support efforts to blame the “authors of human rights violations”.
The organization said it had received “reliable information about 25 murders” that occurred during post-election protests, most of them “from people under 40 and in low-income neighborhoods.”
THE CNN He requested comments from the Venezuelan government about the report, but still awaits an answer.
Dictator Nicolás Maduro previously denied that government security forces are responsible for the murders in the context of electoral protests and attributed, without evidence, these deaths to opposition groups supported by the United States, who in turn also blame the government.
HRW, which said it has interviewed 101 individuals, including victims and their families, witnesses, human rights advocates, journalists and other Venezuelan sources. As a result, the NGO said it has gathered reliable evidence that implies Venezuelan security forces in some of these murders.
Other evidence point to the responsibility of the “collectives”, armed groups affiliated with the Maduro government.
The report notes that the authorities declared Maduro as the winner “despite strong evidence that they say the opposite.” During his term, he always defended his controversial electoral victory.
Venezuela eletors go to the polls again in less than a month, when regional and parliamentary elections will be held again.
Report addresses controversy, persecution and arrests
According to the document, the Maduro government responded to post-election protests by implementing the so-called “Operation Toc-Toc”, “an effort to intimidate, harass and repress critics and protesters across the country, especially in low-income areas”.
The Venezuelan government “murdered, tortured, stopped and disappeared people who defended democracy in Venezuela,” said Juanita Goebertus, director of the HRW Division of the Americas in a statement.
The report states that, since the July vote, more than 2,000 people linked to protests or involved in opposition and human rights activities have been arrested, and hundreds have been accused of crimes such as incitement to hatred, resistance to prison and terrorism, which may lead to penalties of up to 30 years in prison.
“The detainees faced abuse -filled cases,” emphasizes HRW, claiming that the authorities repeatedly denied detention to individuals who were already arrested or refused to provide information about their whereabouts to family members, among many other violations of due process.
Maduro said in August that more than 2,000 people were arrested in post-election protests-more than 140 of them were smaller, according to the criminal forum.
In November 2024, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said CNN that 225 people were released after the president cited possible “procedural errors.” In March, the Public Prosecution Service stated that it had released more than 2,000 people by the end of February.
Appeal to sanctions
HRW has encouraged the international community to impose sanctions and support the work of the International Criminal Court – which is investigating possible crimes against humanity in the country – and the International Mission of Investigation on Venezuela, established by the UN Human Rights Council and with a renewed term until October 2026.
The report states that local and international efforts “have failed to alter internal incentives from the Maduro regime, which reward abusive authorities and security forces to ensure their loyalty, while punishing, torturing and forcing critical, opponents and even members of security forces that support democracy and human rights to exile.”
According to the organization, to dismantle these incentives, foreign governments “must fully support efforts to ensure the responsibility of perpetrators of human rights violations in Venezuela.”
“The international community should reaffirm its commitment to democracy and human rights in Venezuela and press the Maduro government to be held responsible for the atrocities it has committed,” said Goebertus.
The report also notes that countries should “explore ways to limit foreign governments to repression in Venezuela.”
He also asks the US government to restore the sources of financial assistance to Venezuelan civil society organizations, independent journalists and others who defend democracy and human rights.
This content was originally published in Human Rights Watch denounces human rights violations in Venezuela on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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