UN investigators reported on Wednesday that Venezuela continues to operate a “repressive apparatus” responsible for illegal detentions and disappearances. This comes in the context of improvements in human rights following the detention of longtime leader Nicolas Maduro by the United States. Despite these reported advancements, the ongoing repression raises significant concerns about the state of human rights in the country.
UN Mission Reports Decline in Detentions in Venezuela
The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela reported a notable decrease in long-term detentions and enforced disappearances since the US intervention to seize President Nicolás Maduro on January 3. While acknowledging the release of many political detainees and an increase in opportunities for political gatherings, the mission emphasized that these developments have not been accompanied by the necessary institutional reforms to achieve a lasting improvement in human rights conditions.
“Numerous laws used to criminalise dissent remain in force,” the mission stated as it prepares to submit its findings to the UN Human Rights Council on Friday.
And at least 19 officials are still in work despite being accused of violations, the investigators said.
It said no moves had been made to dismantle the “colectivos” — pro-government armed groups that the investigators called a “central component” of the state’s repressive apparatus. “The reduction in some of the harshest forms of repression is notable, but it does not yet amount in any way to a transformation of the system that made them possible,” said mission leader Sofia Macher. Macher said the improvement was “fragile and reversible”.
