Venezuela: A decade of systematic human rights violations under Maduro

The Venezuelan Education-Action Program on Human Rights (Provea) presented its 35th Annual Report, a document denouncing the systematic pattern of human rights violations during the 10 years of Nicolás Maduro’s government.

The report details how the Maduro government “has stifled fundamental freedoms,” -including the right to life, integrity of the person, and personal liberty-, through extrajudicial executions, torture, and arbitrary detentions. Between 2013 and 2023, Provea registered 43,003 victims of violations of the right to the integrity of the person, including 1,652 cases of torture and 7,309 cases of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

More alarmingly, the report reveals that at least 10,085 people have been killed by agents of the public forces during the same period, while most of these cases have gone uninvestigated. This situation has led different United Nations mechanisms to express their deep concern about the crisis in Venezuela and its impact on human rights.

Deepening of extreme poverty

Provea also condemns Maduro’s economic management, which has deepened extreme poverty in the country. More than 45% of Venezuelan households are food insecure, while the minimum wage has stagnated at around 4 USD, insufficient to cover basic needs.

The NGO describes the stagnation of the minimum wage as a deliberate policy against salaried work that has rendered employment more precarious and crushed the saving capacity of Venezuelan families. The consequences of this policy are devastating, as only 16% of households consume an adequate amount of food, while half of the population allocates almost all their income to purchasing food.

Access to basic services is also in a critical situation: 69% of the population has severe restrictions in accessing drinking water, 62% experience regular failures of the electric network and 49% have poor access to transportation.

A regress in human development

According to Provea, Venezuela has experienced a severe setback in human development in recent years. Between 2015 and 2022, the country fell 39 places in the ranking of Human Development Index (HDI) compiled by UNDP; the country now ranks 119 out of 193 nations, one of the lowest in Latin America.

The Venezuelan economy has suffered a contraction of more than 80% of its GDP in recent years, one of the most severe drops recorded worldwide, which has caused serious damage to the country’s productive capacity.