More here:Lack of access to economic and social rights remained a serious concern, with the majority of the population experiencing severe food insecurity and unable to access adequate healthcare. The security forces responded with excessive force and other repressive measures to protests, involving various sectors of the population, to demand economic and social rights, including the right to water. Impunity for ongoing extrajudicial executions by the security forces persisted. Intelligence services and other security forces, with the acquiescence of the judicial system, continued to arbitrarily detain, torture and otherwise ill-treat those perceived to be opponents of the government of Nicolás Maduro. A report by the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Venezuela exposed patterns of crimes against humanity and called for investigations into several named government officials. Prison conditions remained a major concern, especially regarding overcrowding and the use of illegal detention centres, as well as access to basic rights such as water and food. Despite the adoption of legal reforms regarding the administration of justice, access to the right to truth and reparations for victims of human rights violations remained a challenge. Between 240 and 310 people remained arbitrarily detained on political grounds. The state’s repressive policies targeted journalists, independent media and human rights defenders. Illegal mining and violence threatened Indigenous peoples’ rights in the Orinoco Mining Arc. Abortion was still criminalized in almost all circumstances. Violence against women persisted, despite the existing legal framework. There was no progress in ensuring the rights of LGBTI people. By the end of the year more than 7.1 million Venezuelans had fled the country.
Background
Judicial reform implemented in 2021 and 2022 did not result in improvements in the administration of justice.
Hyperinflation and the alarming lack of purchasing power to buy essential goods resulted in most of the population, particularly those living outside the capital, Caracas, experiencing a profound humanitarian crisis.
Authorities continued to impose arbitrary inspections and administrative sanctions on business and commerce in an attempt to control the private sector.
Negotiations between the government and opposition regarding future elections continued but failed to reach agreement during the year.
Venezuela resumed diplomatic relations with Colombia and the two countries announced a progressive opening of the Venezuela-Colombia border.
The mandate of the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) was renewed for a period of two years and the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC requested the Court’s authorization to resume the investigation into crimes against humanity in Venezuela.
Repression of dissent
The policy of repression continued. Political opponents, real and perceived, were constantly under attack and at risk of arbitrary detention, torture and other human rights violations. Several thousand people continued to be subject to restrictions on their freedom because of current or past politically motivated judicial procedures.
Freedom of expression and assembly
The number of mass demonstrations demanding civil and political rights fell compared to previous years. In response, the authorities adopted more targeted, but nevertheless systematic, repressive tactics. These included using the judicial system to silence dissent and criminalize human rights defenders.
According to the Venezuelan Observatory on Social Conflict, there were 7,032 protests, of which 77% were demanding economic and social rights. Authorities often responded to these demonstrations with excessive force and arbitrary detentions. For example, six activists were arbitrarily detained in Caracas in June at a vigil in memory of Neomar Lander, a teenager killed during a protest in 2017.
As of August, the local organization Public Space had registered 228 attacks on freedom of expression in the form of censorship, verbal attacks and intimidation targeting journalists. By December, the National Telecommunications Commission had closed down 78 radio stations; police and military officers were involved in implementing the closures.
The telecommunications company Telefónica admitted having received and complied with government requests to block access to several websites and to tap phone lines without judicial warrants.
According to Public Space, the Director of the community radio station Frontera 92.5 FM, José Urbina, was killed, allegedly by armed groups, in the state of Apure, which borders Colombia. He had reported receiving death threats following his work highlighting alleged human rights violations by the Bolivarian National Guard in the area.
Extrajudicial executions
In September, the FFM issued a report expressing concern at continuing extrajudicial executions, consistent with previously documented patterns, in the context of security operations in low-income, urban neighbourhoods.
According to the human rights organization COFAVIC, as of September, security forces had carried out 488 alleged extrajudicial executions in various parts of the country. Those responsible remained unpunished.
The OHCHR, the UN’s human rights office, reported in June that authorities had dissolved the Bolivarian National Police’s Special Actions Forces (FAES); the FAES had been implicated in several hundred alleged extrajudicial executions. However, the government did not make any public statement on this and civil society organizations continued to report that FAES officials remained operational.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/ame ... venezuela/
The government there are worthy of criticism.