Report: Venezuela’s armed forces have killed more than 10,000 citizens in the last decade

According to Venezuelan human rights organization Provea, Venezuelan security forces have killed 10,085 people in the last decade. The data, presented in a new report, mainly refers to extrajudicial executions, but also includes deaths during the massive protests that took place in 2014 and 2017.

The number of murders increased until 2020, after which it began to decline. According to the NGO, the documented decline could be due to inadequate reporting or lack of press coverage.

In 2023 alone, there were a total of 620 victims, most of them between the ages of 18 and 30. The Bolivarian National Police was responsible for 30 percent of the murders. The report from April 30: Maduro, a dark decade for human rightsalso states that 43,003 victims of violations of personal integrity were registered, including 1,652 victims of torture and 7,309 victims of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

“Since 1989, Provea has been monitoring reports of human rights violations in the national and regional media. In cases of violations of the right to life, an additional verification process is carried out to obtain statistics on alleged killings by security forces. This information is published annually in the annual report and this assessment of Maduro’s 10 years consolidates the reports from 2013 to 2023,” Lissette González, Provea’s research coordinator, told dialogand stated that most of the victims were young people from the working class and that the year with the most deaths was 2019.

“The trend has been increasing since 2015, when the People’s Liberation Operations began, which are military operations to ensure the security of citizens, which seized popular neighborhoods and committed numerous excesses in order to ‘put an end to crime,'” González said.

The non-governmental organization warns of a possible intensification of repression in view of the presidential elections on July 28, in which Maduro is seeking a third six-year term. The publication of the report coincides with complaints from human rights groups and experts from the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which are said to be the result of the persecution of opposition candidates during the presidential campaign.

Foro Penal, a Venezuelan NGO that provides legal assistance to arbitrarily detained individuals, reported that 15,827 detentions were recorded between 2014 and 2024. According to Foro Penal, there are currently 273 “confirmed political prisoners” in Venezuela, including military personnel and civilians. Many of them have been held for longer than the time allowed for pre-trial detention, which is a violation of legal rights, including the right to due process.

“The persecution of human rights activists and non-state political forces in Venezuela is increasing significantly,” said Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of the Foro Penal. AFP reported.

Since January, about nine associates of opposition leader María Corina Machado have been arrested. Venezuelan security forces have also arrested other activists, including Rocío San Miguel, an expert on military issues, who was arrested in February and accused of plotting to overthrow Maduro.

“As the country prepares for presidential elections in July 2024, these enforced disappearances could have a chilling effect and undermine the people’s right to vote freely,” the UN working group warned. CNN reported.

On the same day the report was released, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) passed a resolution extending preventive protection measures to all Provea members. The NGO, which has been fighting for human rights in Venezuela for 35 years, has been sued and threatened several times, and a staff member was kidnapped during the 2014 protests.

“The coordinator team had already taken precautionary measures since 2015 due to the threats and attacks mentioned. Since 2022, Provea has been in the public spotlight. Fearing for the integrity and freedom of the team, there were calls to extend these measures to the entire work team of the organization,” said González.

The IACHR is a central and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate derives from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. González said that in practice the IACHR resolution means somewhat more protection: “The political cost of detaining or forcing a Provea member to disappear is increasing” for the regime.