The 2017 Crackdown on Dissent in Venezuela

A protester is detained by members of Bolivarian National Guard during an anti-government demonstration in Altamira, Caracas
A protester is detained by members of Bolivarian National Guard during an anti-government demonstration in Altamira, Caracas, July 6, 2017. © 2017 Giovanna Mascetti
Venezuelan security forces use a water cannon to disperse an anti-government demonstration on the Francisco Fajardo Highway.
Venezuelan security forces use a water cannon to disperse an anti-government demonstration on the Francisco Fajardo Highway, Caracas, May 18, 2017. © 2017 Giovanna Mascetti
A tear gas canister lies on the ground at a place where clashes between the Bolivarian National Guard and anti-government demonstrators had taken place in Caracas.
A tear gas canister lies on the ground at a place where clashes between the Bolivarian National Guard and anti-government demonstrators had taken place in Caracas, July 12, 2017. © 2017 Giovanna Mascetti
Officers of the Bolivarian National Police, behind their shields, block the street during an anti-government demonstration on Sabana Grande Boulevard, Caracas.
Officers of the Bolivarian National Police, behind their shields, block the street during an anti-government demonstration on Sabana Grande Boulevard, Caracas, May 12, 2017. ©2017 Giovanna Mascetti
A first aid volunteer from the Central University of Venezuela, part of a group known as the Green Cross, shows a marble extracted from the chest of a demonstrator who was shot by anti-riot police during an anti-government rally in Las Mercedes, Caracas.
A first aid volunteer from the Central University of Venezuela, part of a group known as the Green Cross, shows a marble extracted from the chest of a demonstrator who was shot by anti-riot police during an anti-government rally in Las Mercedes, Caracas, June 19, 2017. © 2017 Giovanna Mascetti
First aid volunteers from the Central University of Venezuela, part of a group known as the Green Cross, transport a person severely injured during clashes with anti-riot police to a nearby health center in Altamira, Caracas.
First aid volunteers from the Central University of Venezuela, part of a group known as the Green Cross, transport a person severely injured during clashes with anti-riot police to a nearby health center in Altamira, Caracas, June 28, 2017. © 2017 Giovanna Mascetti
Back with bullet holes
A demonstrator injured with pellets during an anti-government demonstration obtains medical treatment in Caracas, June 2017. © 2017 Private
Bullet wounds on a man's leg
A demonstrator injured with plastic pellets shot from a close range during an anti-government demonstration in Mérida receives medical treatment from first aid responders, May 2017. © 2017 Private
X-ray of a patient injured by a shotgun pellet that entered his eye during an anti-government demonstration in Mérida, May 2017.
X-ray of a patient injured by a shotgun pellet that entered his eye during an anti-government demonstration in Mérida, May 2017. © 2017 Private.
X-ray of patient injured during an anti-government demonstration in Caracas shows many pellet shots to the face and head.
X-ray of patient injured during an anti-government demonstration in Caracas shows many pellet shots to the face and head, June 2017. © 2017 Private
X-ray of patient injured during an anti-government demonstration in Caracas shows impact on patient’s eye of being directly hit by a teargas canister, June 2017. © 2017 Private
X-ray of patient injured during an anti-government demonstration in Caracas shows impact on patient’s eye of being directly hit by a teargas canister, June 2017. © 2017 Private

In April 2017, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Venezuela to protest against the government-controlled Supreme Court’s attempt to usurp the powers of the country’s legislative branch. Demonstrations quickly spread throughout the country and continued for months, fueled by widespread discontent with the authoritarian practices of President Nicolás Maduro and the humanitarian crisis that has devastated the country under his watch. The government responded with widespread violence and brutality against anti-government protesters and detainees, and has denied detainees’ due process rights. While it was not the first crackdown on dissent under Maduro, the scope and severity of the repression in 2017 reached levels unseen in Venezuela in recent memory.

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