Video: Venezuelan Military Officers and Families Detained, Tortured

(New York, January 9, 2019) – Venezuelan intelligence and security forces have detained and tortured military personnel suspected of plotting against the government, Human Rights Watch and the Venezuelan nongovernmental group Foro Penal said today. Authorities have also detained and tortured the family members of some suspects in an effort to determine their whereabouts. Our findings are based on an analysis of 11 cases in 2018 involving a total of 29 people, and one case from 2017. In most cases, members of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) or the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) carried out the arrests. Some detainees were subjected to egregious abuses that amount to torture, including severe beatings, asphyxiation, and electric shocks with the purpose of forcing them to provide information about alleged conspiracies.