The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on Tuesday denounced the legal pursuit of opposition leaders in Venezuela, alleging it aims to “hinder” political participation of anti-Chavistas.
In a statement, the IACHR stated that arrest warrants announced by the Public Ministry against 14 individuals, including three opposition leaders and members of Maria Corina Machado’s presidential team, form part of a “pattern of persecution” targeting political participation by the anti-Chavismo movement.
The commission highlighted Roberto Abdul’s case, head of the NGO Súmate, advocating for political rights and electoral participation. Abdul was “temporarily detained, disappeared, and presented before courts without access to chosen legal defense” before being released on December 20 after 14 days in custody.
These four individuals, alongside ten abroad, were accused of “treason, conspiracy, legitimization of capital, and association to commit a crime” in an alleged conspiracy against the December 3 referendum regarding the territorial dispute with Guyana.
The IACHR claimed that Venezuela’s justice system, serving the Venezuelan regime, lacks “independence and impartiality,” playing a significant role in suppressing opposition to Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Furthermore, it warned against the “use of extremely broad, vague, and ambiguous criminal charges such as treason, which could be exploited to persecute and hinder legitimate political participation.”
The commission demanded the Venezuelan state not only to “immediately release all arbitrarily detained individuals” but also to urgently take measures “to restore the separation and independence of public powers and ensure opposition’s political participation in the 2024 presidential elections.”
On December 9, Machado, the presidential candidate of the main opposition coalition, denounced increased government attacks against her party, Vente Venezuela (VV). She highlighted assaults on their headquarters, bank account blockades, and threats of arrest against citizens dedicated to working for Venezuela.
Machado, disqualified from running for public office, previously won the opposition primaries on October 22 with 92.35% of the votes. The Supreme Court, a week after the primaries, declared the contest “suspended.”
