Marianna Romero, Human Rights defender and director of the Center for Defenders and Justice, explained that 2023 saw a significant increase in the number of attacks against human rights organizations and defenders in an electoral context.

“The Venezuelan State increased the restrictions on civic and democratic space, which led to actions of criminalization, repression and social control,” Romero highlighted during a recent interview.

“Violations of the rights of association, assembly, demonstration and expression took place, along with stigmatization and threats. There are no official statistics on these cases, but they tend to increase in election times” she noted.

According to the NGO, 524 cases of human rights violations were registered in 2023, in the deepening of a policy of criminalization based on the logic of the internal enemy that has led to an increase in abuses.

The lawyer also added that the NGO’s investigation and monitoring team has observed an increase in cases of attacks and human rights violations in Venezuela, especially directed towards human rights defenders.

“The strategy of the Venezuelan State is to use sophisticated methods of criminalization and repression directed at specific actors to generate fear and neutralize the actions of other organizations and individuals that promote human rights,” she said.

Likewise, the NGO has documented different types of violations in the fields of health, education and human rights, but no specific statistics are provided on which are the most affected sectors.

Lack of political will

Ms. Romero added that the policy of repression and criminalization is widespread in Venezuela while mentioning a lack of political will to establish responsibilities and respect human rights.

“The panorama for civil society in 2024 will be complex, with many obstacles and constant threats,” she commented.

Likewise, she believes that “there will be a deepening of criminalization measures against the promotion and defense of human rights.”

Finally, Ms. Romero pointed out that it is important that the international community demand the Venezuelan State to guarantee civil society organizations the continuation of their work without fear of reprisals.

Translated by José Rafael Medina