A UN investigation says Venezuela’s national guard committed crimes against humanity, including torture and killings, over more than a decade
GENEVA: Venezuela’s national guard has committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity for more than a decade, a United Nations investigation has found.
The UN’s independent international fact-finding mission determined the Bolivarian National Guard was central to the persecution of President Nicolas Maduro’s opponents.
“GNB officials perpetrated arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary detentions, sexual and gender-based violence, as well as torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the mission stated.
These abuses occurred during law enforcement operations at protests and in targeted political persecution since 2014.
Mission chair Marta Valinas said it documented the GNB’s role in “systematic and coordinated repression against opponents or those perceived as such”.
The report found a highly centralised chain of command under Maduro’s direction facilitated the abuses.
During major protests in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2024, the GNB used excessive force and improper lethal weapons.
It also documented mass arbitrary detentions, physical violence, planted evidence, torture, and sexual violence in GNB detention centres.
“They form part of a pattern of abuse used to punish and break victims,” Valinas added.
The Venezuelan judicial system appears unable or unwilling to investigate these violations, the report concluded.
“The mission has reasonable grounds to believe that GNB officials made essential contributions to the crimes under investigation,” Valinas said.
The UN Human Rights Council established the fact-finding mission in 2019 to assess alleged violations since 2014.
The report’s release coincides with 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado addressing the world from Oslo.
Machado, awarded the prize for challenging Maduro’s power, has been in hiding since August 2024 due to threats.
Venezuelan security forces are regularly accused of abuses, especially during the repression of opposition demonstrations.
The US, Europe, and many Latin American countries do not recognise the results of Maduro’s 2024 re-election.
The opposition has accused Maduro of stealing that election.
More than seven million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2013 to escape the ongoing crisis. – AFP
