Reports alleging that detainees have continued to be tortured in Venezuela following the seizure of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January are concerning, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has stated.
Maduro has been replaced in power by one of his loyal allies, former Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez, under whose leadership an amnesty bill has been passed into law.
Türk welcomed the amnesty law but warned that structural and systemic human rights concerns have persisted in Venezuela despite Maduro's ousting. He noted that many Venezuelans remain in arbitrary detention and highlighted that there is a child among those arbitrarily detained.
While the Venezuelan parliament, dominated by Maduro loyalists, claimed that over 7,700 people had been granted full freedom under the amnesty law, independent groups like Foro Penal have confirmed the release of fewer than 700 detainees and reported that more than 500 individuals remain imprisoned for political reasons.
Türk emphasized the need for greater transparency, urging Venezuelan authorities to allow access to detention centres and provide official lists of those released. His office had received disturbing reports of continued torture and mistreatment in various facilities, including Rodeo 1 and Fuerte Guaicaipuro.
The UN Human Rights Council has been informed of ongoing human rights violations, with an independent fact-finding mission documenting cases of torture and other severe mistreatments of detainees. Venezuelan officials have historically dismissed such reports as politically motivated.
