The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (FFMV) denounced in a report on Tuesday that the socialist regime is committing the crime against humanity of politically motivated persecution following the sham July 28 presidential election.
Socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, who controls every Venezuelan government institution, fraudulently proclaimed himself the “winner” of the sham July 28 election and unleashed a brutal persecution campaign against dissidents who peacefully protested the dictator’s attempts to steal the election.
In a little more than one month, the persecution campaign has resulted in at least 25 deaths, hundreds injured, and more than 2,400 arbitrary detentions, including more than 140 teenagers, of which nearly 60 children aged 14-17 remain detained as of the weekend. The campaign has featured harrowing tactics, such as retrofitting government phone apps with features to hunt dissidents and forcing dissidents to record horror-esque “apologies.” The report stressed that the children detained — some of whom present disabilities — were accused of “terrorism and incitement to hatred.”
Maduro said in early August that the detained dissidents would be sent to “re-education centers” at two of the country’s most infamous prisons, which the regime emptied of its inmates in 2023.
The FFMV was established in 2019 to investigate human rights violations committed by the Maduro regime. In its latest report, the Mission warned that the regime’s politically motivated persecution actions are not “isolated or random” acts but are part of a “continuing and coordinated plan to silence, discourage and quash opposition” to the rogue socialist regime’s rule.
“We are witnessing an intensification of the State’s repressive machinery in response to what it perceives as critical views, opposition or dissent,” The Mission’s head, Marta Valiñas, said:
Although this is a continuation of previous patterns, that the mission has already characterized as crimes against humanity, the recent repression, due to its intensity and systematic nature, represents a very serious attack on the fundamental rights of the Venezuelan people, committed despite several calls both inside and outside the country to respect human rights.
In a previous report, released in March, the FFMV stressed that the Maduro regime’s repressive acts had become “more violent” before the July 28 sham election. The violent repressive measures intensified following the October 2023 “Barbados Agreement,” a document signed by the Maduro regime and the opposition under the observation of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that called for a “free and fair” election in Venezuela. In return for its “commitment,” the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden awarded Maduro a generous and ample six-month oil and gas sanctions relief package.
The Mission stressed that the arrests of dissidents in the brutal crackdown campaign were followed by serious violations of due process reaching “unprecedented levels in the country.” The criminal proceedings initiated against the detainees systematically violated basic due process guarantees. The U.N. experts also reaffirmed their conclusion that the Venezuelan justice system is “clearly subordinated” to Maduro’s interests and serves as a “key instrument” to repress all forms of political and social opposition to his rule.
“Victims and a large part of the population are exposed to the arbitrary exercise of power, where arbitrary detention is systematically used, with serious violations of due process,” Francisco Cox, one of the Mission’s experts, said. “The mission had previously warned that the government could activate its repressive apparatus at will, and that is precisely what we are now observing.”
The U.N. experts noted that Maduro himself had threatened a “bloodbath” if he was not the “winner” of the fraudulent election.
Patricia Tappatá, another Fact-Finding Mission expert, said:
The government’s repressive plan and policy targeted individuals who dared to criticize President Maduro, question government policies, or protest against the electoral results. It especially focused on members of the political opposition or those perceived as opposition by the Government, although anyone could be a victim.
“The severity of the repression, the effort to demonstrate results through imprisonment, and the use of mistreatment and torture have instilled a climate of widespread fear among the population, further reducing civic space,” she continued.
Maduro’s “victory” has been greatly called into question by the international community, most notably after the Venezuelan opposition published voter data obtained from tallies nationwide on the day of the election that it claims can demonstrate its candidate, 75-year-old former diplomat Edmundo González, defeated Maduro in a landslide.
González fled to Spain in early September shortly after the Maduro regime issued an arrest warrant against him on “disobedience,” “conspiracy,” “usurpation of functions,” and “sabotage” charges.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
