The Dangerous Price of Perceived Political Dissent in Venezuela
After a campaign marked by threats, repression, and censorship, Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the Venezuelan presidential election on July 28, 2024, in an election labeled undemocratic by the international community. Maduro failed to publish the official results of the election, and the opposition noted that his win was not supported by the data collected during the election process. Be that as it may, Maduro is still set to begin his six-year term as president in January 2025. Arguably the most chilling element of this suppression has been the rise in enforced disappearances since the election. Distrust in the Venezuelan government is not a recent phenomenon, as a climate of impunity has severely undermined the system of checks and balances, allowing the executive branch to act with minimal accountability. Between 2014 and 2019, there were 15,160 political detentions in Venezuela as part of a widespread attack against dissent by an already corrupted government. The human rights crisis in Venezuela has only worsened in recent years, with up to 25% of the population having fled the country
Many Venezuelans were displeased with the election results, and on July 29, 2024, thousands of people took to the streets to protest. In what a UN fact-finding mission has called a “new wave of persecution,” authorities have escalated their response, violently cracking down on these protests. Between July 28 and August 13, there had already been 2,400 arrests, and the number continues to rise. While some of the people who have been detained were actively protesting the election, the majority were civilians with perceived anti-government sentiment. The enforced disappearance of protestors is also a violation of human rights, but it is important to highlight that many of the detainees did not engage in any unlawful activities. Moreover, over 100 children and adolescents have been arrested and are being subjected to the same abuses as adults.
Venezuela currently has the largest number of political prisoners of any country in the Western Hemisphere. According to a report on October 22, there has been a year-on-year increase of 745% in political prisoners even though the election occurred months ago. Pursuant to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, an enforced disappearance requires a deprivation of liberty due to state action and the refusal to acknowledge the detention or reveal the whereabouts of the disappeared person. In Venezuela, authorities are detaining people without any warning or legal reasoning as to why they are being detained. In addition, the government is not allowing people to communicate with their families and not telling the families of detainees where they are or why they were detained. Many people are taken to unknown locations, often near Caracas, and held there without their families being informed of their whereabouts. Detainees are held completely incommunicado, meaning they have no contact with the outside world and can more easily be coerced into admitting what the government wants. Under Maduro’s direction, authorities have repurposed maximum-security prisons to hold detainees and torture them without interference.
The primary reason that most people are put on trial in Caracas is that this is the only place where Venezuelan courts can hear terrorism cases. An admission of terrorism is the main goal of the government’s detentions, and law enforcement use many unethical/illegal methods to achieve it. For one, detainees are subjected to different methods of torture, such as exposure to extreme temperatures and severe beatings. Additionally, the government deprives people of due process by not allowing them to speak to a private lawyer, even though they have the right to do so. The authorities automatically appoint state public defenders, even when the detainees refuse to denounce their private lawyers. Reports show that these public defenders are counseling people to admit guilty charges and agree to whatever the state claims.
Attorneys from non-profits like Foro Penal and other groups have been present in Venezuela since the election and are diligently working to represent disappeared people. However, authorities are turning these groups away and withholding crucial information. Many of the trials are secretly held, so the attorneys have no way of knowing where or how to defend their clients. Since most of the trials must be conducted in the courts in Caracas, the government is resorting to virtual trials for detainees who cannot be physically present. This makes it even more difficult for private attorneys to speak with or represent clients. There has also been a rise in attacks on private lawyers by government officials. People report being followed and harassed, or even physically attacked.
Other members of the international human rights community have condemned the actions of the Venezuelan government and worked to stop these disappearances. For example, Amnesty International called for the immediate release of all people who were arbitrarily detained for political reasons, and contacted the prosecutor for the ICC, asking him to investigate. In the United States, Venezuela is on the list of countries from which citizens are eligible for humanitarian parole. This means that people can come to the United States to live and work lawfully for a period of two years to escape violence at home even without any legal basis for admission.
Support from the international community has provided some assistance to Venezuelans, however the situation is far from resolved. Even today, months after the election, there are still countless reports of people being disappeared and tortured at the hands of the government. This repression may still be a response to disputed election results, or this could be the beginning of a new wave of extreme violence and repression in Venezuela.
Eden Maddy is a student in the Boston University International Human Rights Clinic and a second year JD candidate.
