The Use of Forced Disappearance Increases in Venezuela
By IPS
HAVANA TIMES – Experts from the United Nations and the Inter-American Human Rights system criticized the growing use of forced disappearance against activists in Venezuela and urged the government to disclose their whereabouts and protect their lives and personal integrity in a statement issued on Friday, February 28.
“The increase in the use of forced disappearance as a weapon to silence opposition members, those perceived as such, pro-democracy activists, and human rights defenders, aims to create a chilling effect on society as a whole,” the experts said.
They highlighted that they have received repeated reports from family members, lawyers, and civil society organizations seeking to determine the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones and clients, and that complaints and habeas corpus petitions are not being processed and, in some cases, not even accepted.
“Faced with biased and dysfunctional national institutions, victims increasingly turn to international mechanisms to uncover the truth about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones, prevent any irreparable harm to their lives and personal integrity, and seek redress,” the experts stated.
The experts are part of the UN Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances, chaired by Italian jurist Gabriella Citroni, and act under the mandate of the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Their statement indicated that arrests followed by forced disappearance have been reported “in the context of the presidential elections of July 2024, and during and after the presidential inauguration in January 2025.”
On July 28 of last year, the presidential election was held in Venezuela for the 2025-2031 term, and the electoral authority declared Nicolás Maduro the winner, who has governed since 2013, with 53% of the votes, compared to 43% for the candidate of an opposition coalition, Edmundo González.
The electoral authority never published the results by regions, municipalities, and voting centers, as was customary in previous elections.
The opposition, published tally sheets issued at the polling stations from almost 85% of the 30,000 voting tables, which shows that Gonzalez was the clear winner with 67% of the votes compared to only 30% for the current leader.
The announcement of the official results without any proof sparked protests, quickly and harshly suppressed, resulting in 27 deaths, dozens of injuries, and more than 2,000 arrests. Several governments in the Americas and Europe, as well as UN missions and the US-based Carter Center, believe that González was the clear winner of the election.
In the following months, protests decreased, hundreds of detainees initially accused of terrorism were released with conditions, and in their place, selective arrests of political and human rights leaders and activists began.
Among those released, a month ago, were six US citizens who were taken directly from prison to a plane that flew them to their country after a brief visit to Maduro by a diplomat sent by Washington, Richard Grenell.
On January 10, Maduro took the presidential oath again, continued the detention of opponents, civil activists, and journalists, and small demonstrations have been recorded demanding freedom for those detained for political reasons.
The Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal reported that, as of February 24, there were 1,060 political prisoners in the country, including 165 military personnel, 121 women, and four minors.
The UN and IACHR experts said that the climate of intimidation in society “is fueled by the widespread impunity and selective justice” that prevails in Venezuela.
They noted that the complaints filed, since the pre-election period, “describe the systematic use of so-called short-term enforced disappearances,” which “continue to occur in the country.”
“State authorities who arrest individuals and refuse to acknowledge that they are in custody or reveal their fate or whereabouts place them outside the protection of the law,” the experts pointed out.
They added that “these acts constitute enforced disappearance, regardless of the duration of the detention or concealment,” they emphasized.
The complaints received reveal a widespread or systematic pattern of enforced disappearance, in which several Venezuelan authorities, including the highest government officials, would be involved in the commission or concealment, the experts said.
They also mentioned the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, the National Guard and Police, the Paratrooper Infantry Brigade, the judiciary, the Ombudsman’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office.
They urged the Venezuelan government to comply with the precautionary measures granted by the IACHR, respond to the requests of the UN Working Group in accordance with its humanitarian mandate, and provide information about the fate and whereabouts of people currently forcibly disappeared by the state.
They added that this crime must be sanctioned, prevented, and eradicated as a serious violation of human rights under international law.
Those detained “must be guaranteed all fundamental legal safeguards,” said the experts, “including the right to communicate and receive visits from their family members, lawyers, or any other person of their choice.”
“If the detained person is a foreigner, they have the right to communicate with their consular authorities,” they specified, and all individuals also have the right “to be brought before a competent judicial authority, within the legal timeframe, to determine the legality of their detention.”