In 2020, The Nicolás Maduro administration began its onslaught against human rights as early as January. Although the State is theoretically responsible for adopting the necessary measures to achieve the real and effective exercise of human rights, in Venezuelan reality, human rights violations occur every day as a consequence of the deliberate action of the Executive power.

Venezuelans had not finished their happy new year greetings when Nicolás Maduro and his cronies were plotting how to violate the rights of citizens. Justice in Venezuela went into quarantine long before the arrival of COVID-19, and in this article, we will review twelve human rights violations that marked 2020. The list of transgressions covers all areas of life: from the exercise of political rights, the right to justice, education, health, and identity, to the right to life itself.

1) JANUARY 5: Two Presidents and one National Assembly

Juan Guaidó, president in charge of Venezuela, tried to jump over the fence that borders the Legislative Palace to participate in the vote that would renew his mandate as president of the Legislative branch and, consequently, as interim president of the Republic. This ratification was finally given in a parallel event while the main building saw the inauguration of deputy Luis Parra, an actor imposed by the Executive power without the endorsement of the required votes. Seizing Guaidó’s position constituted a violation of Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which establishes that “[t]he will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”

2) MARCH 13: No right to identity documents

With the start of the pandemic, the Nicolás Maduro administration closed all public offices, including those of the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration, and Foreigners (Saime). This closure denied the right of millions of Venezuelans, inside and outside the country, to obtain and renew their identity documents, which violates a basic human right. The agency named biosafety reasons for the decision that lasted for months, depriving Venezuelans of having their identity documents during that time.

3) MARCH 16: Without schools, children were put to work

With the onset of the pandemic in Venezuela, the suspension of face-to-face classes was announced on March 16. For a small minority of students, the option of remote education remained, but organizations such as Fundaredes estimate that around 80% of students dropped out of the school system. The NGO World Vision denounced that child labor in Venezuela had increased by 20% during the pandemic. Out-of-school children undertake housework, work outside the home with their parents or caregivers, or are forced to participate in the sale or distribution of illicit drugs, the NGO said. Articles 7 and 9 of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child state that minors have the right to education, recreation, and protection from labor exploitation.

4) MARCH 18: Behind bars and without the right to life (Part I)

On Wednesday, March 18, more than 80 prisoners escaped from the San Carlos prison, in Zulia state. The NGO Provea denounced the murder of 35 of the escapees. “The state of alarm is not a blank check for human rights violations,” denounced Provea. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights declares that “[e]very human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”

5) MAY 1: Behind bars and without the right to life (Part II)

On Friday, May 1, a riot occurred in the Los Llanos Penitentiary Center, in Portuguesa state, with a toll of 17 prisoners dead and 9 more wounded. The authorities indicated that it was an attempted escape. Once again, the Venezuelan State violated Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which establishes that no one can be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

6) MAY 08: Outside prison, the right to life is not respected either

On Friday, May 8, a week after the riot in which 17 prisoners died, the alleged commission of extrajudicial killings during a police operation in Petare’s José Félix Ribas neighborhood was denounced. In this operation, carried out by the Ministry of the Interior, Justice, and Peace, at least 8 people died. The report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced that between January 1 and May 31, 2020, 1,324 people had died during security operations, with the Special Actions Forces (FAES) as the main responsible body. Once again, the right to life and the prohibition of arbitrary executions, established in article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, were violated.

7) MAY 22: The right to not be labeled a “biological weapon” for having COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the context of the combined violation of multiple human rights by the Maduro administration. The forced return of thousands of Venezuelans who had migrated to countries in the region served for the government to criminalize and accuse the migrants of being used as “biological weapons”, in violation of the right of any person to return to their country whenever they want (Art. 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The mandatory transfer of people suspected of having COVID-19 to sites under strict State surveillance, such as primary care hospitals, hotels, and abandoned facilities, was a recurring policy of the Venezuelan health authorities since the beginning of the pandemic. Many of these facilities lacked the minimum conditions, such as access to running water and food, to guarantee the recovery of the sick, in violation of the right to health and dignified treatment.

8) JUNE 05: No right to independent judges (Part I)

The Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), whose magistrates were appointed in violation of the National Constitution, took upon itself the power of the National Assembly to designate the new rectors of the National Electoral Council. The Constitutional Chamber of the TSJ argued that the National Assembly was in legislative omission and proceeded to make the appointments. The electoral council handpicked by the Judicial branch at the service of the Executive was the one that called and organized the December 6 parliamentary elections. Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes the right of everyone to independent and impartial courts.

9) JUNE 17: No right to independent judges (Part II)

The consequences of having a biased judicial power became evident again when the Supreme Tribunal arbitrarily imposed a board of directors for the opposition political parties Primero Justicia and Acción Democrática. The parties’ headquarters and symbols were granted to politicians not recognized as legitimate leaders by the members of these organizations. Less than a month later, on July 7, the TSJ appointed a board of directors for the Voluntad Popular party. Once again, the right of every person to a fair, impartial, and independent judiciary was violated.

10) OCTOBER 26: No right to independent judges (Part III)

A new name was added to the list of political prisoners in Venezuela on Monday, October 26, when state security agents arbitrarily detained journalist Roland Carreño. More than 300 people in Venezuela remain in prison for political reasons, including journalist and political activist Carreño. The Fourth State Court of Caracas, with jurisdiction in cases of terrorism, ordered the detention of Carreño and accused him of “financing terrorism, conspiring against the political form, and illicit trafficking in weapons of war.” “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile,” declares Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

11) DECEMBER 06: Venezuelans vote but do not elect

The undemocratic event of December 6 left all public powers under the control of Nicolás Maduro. After the parliamentary elections organized by a biased Electoral Council, Venezuelan institutions were formally left without any system of checks and balances or legitimacy of origin. This situation poses a great threat to the rights of all citizens in Venezuela since it allows the new National Assembly to draft laws that will be very difficult to bear for people in Venezuela, despite the condemnation of the international community.

12) DECEMBER 12: Capsizing while fleeing a country that doesn’t respect people’s rights

A shipwreck in the waters between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, which occurred between December 6 and 12, left at least 33 men, women, and children dead and their bodies washed away by the current back to the coast of Güiria, where they had set sail for Trinidadian territory in search of a better life. The human rights of these people were violated twice: first by their own country, which did not provide them protection and shelter from hunger, disease, and violence that dominate the area, but also by a third country -Trinidad and Tobago-, whose authorities are believed to have turned the ship back to to the sea under unsafe conditions after they had reached the island. Venezuelans closed 2020 seeing how their human rights are repeatedly violated by those who usurp political power and witnessing how those rights can be also violated by neighboring countries, akin to the Maduro regime, if they try to flee.

Translated by José Rafael Medina