DB Audio 1 May 2025

When Venezuelan authorities announced that Nicolás Maduro had been re-elected president after last July’s vote, there was more than widespread skepticism. Indeed, substantial evidence showed opposition candidate Edmundo González had won by a significant margin.

People were outraged. Many took to the streets in protest.

Authorities responded by launching a vicious crackdown. The message was simple and thuggish: we won, you shut up – or else.

That “or else” was not an empty threat. Venezuelan authorities and pro-government groups, known as colectivos, acted on it again and again.

The abuses they committed – against protesters, bystanders, opposition leaders, and critics, during post-electoral protests and after – have now been extensively documented in a new Human Rights Watch report. It reads like a laundry list of things authorities should never do.

They killed protesters and bystanders. Twenty-four people were killed during demonstrations. Evidence points to the involvement of Venezuelan security forces in some of these killings and colectivos in others.

They wrongfully arrested and prosecuted large numbers of people, including children. More than 2,000 people have been detained for protesting, criticizing the government, or supporting the opposition. Authorities have charged hundreds with vague and unfounded offenses.

They forcibly disappeared opposition party members, their relatives, and foreign nationals. Authorities refuse to release information on their whereabouts. Families are still looking for loved ones in detention centers and morgues.

They tortured detainees. Enough said.

In responding to these well-documented abuses by Venezuelan authorities, the outside world needs to do at least four things.

First, foreign governments should keep making the basic, yet essential, calls on Venezuelan authorities to stop their violations. They should insist on the release of people wrongly detained and information on the disappeared.

Second, the international community should strongly back efforts to help victims get justice. This includes supporting the work of the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela and the International Criminal Court.

Third, other governments should expand support for Venezuelan civil society groups, independent journalists, and groups advocating for democracy and human rights.

Fourth, foreign governments need to expand access to international protection for Venezuelans fleeing repression.

They have to understand the scope of the problem in Venezuela, not least because it impacts asylum requests at their borders. Many have fled the country in the wake of the post-election crackdown. But the country’s problems didn’t start in July 2025, of course. Many left well before.

A staggering 8 million Venezuelans now live abroad. New waves of repression in Venezuela under Maduro will likely trigger new waves of refugees.

Venezuela’s human rights crisis is the most consequential in the Western Hemisphere. A serious, sustained, and principled international response is crucial for the entire region.