(Mexico City) – Repression in Venezuela escalated during 2024 ahead of the July 28 elections, and a brutal crackdown followed the announcement, contrary to available evidence, that Nicolás Maduro had been re-elected president, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025.
For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In much of the world, Executive Director Tirana Hassan writes in her introductory essay, governments cracked down and wrongfully arrested and imprisoned political opponents, activists, and journalists. Armed groups and government forces unlawfully killed civilians, drove many from their homes, and blocked access to humanitarian aid. In many of the more than 70 national elections in 2024, authoritarian leaders gained ground with their discriminatory rhetoric and policies.
“The Venezuelan government has engaged in overt repression to stifle dissent and cling to power,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Maduro’s swearing in is the culmination of an election that blatantly disregarded the people’s will, and solidifies Venezuela’s consolidation of authoritarianism.”
- On July 28, large numbers of Venezuelans voted despite irregular government actions and human rights violations. The electoral council has not released tally sheets to back up its announcement that Maduro won. Independent observers such as the UN Panel of Electoral Experts and the Carter Center raised serious concerns about the legitimacy of the results. The Carter Center noted that the tally sheets gathered by the opposition showed that opposition candidate Edmundo González had won the election by a significant margin.
- Following the announcement of the election results, thousands of largely peaceful protesters took to the streets to demand a fair vote count. Authorities and pro-government armed groups, colectivos, responded with violence and widespread abuses. Twenty-three protesters and bystanders died, and authorities arbitrarily detained and prosecuted protesters and government critics, including dozens of adolescents.
- On January 10, 2025, Jorge Rodríguez, president of the government-controlled National Assembly, swore in Maduro as president.
- Over 20 million Venezuelans live in multidimensional poverty, lacking adequate access to essential goods, services, and rights, including food and critical medicines. The UN Humanitarian Response Plan remains severely underfunded, at less than 28 percent. Since 2014, approximately 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country, and following the recent election, based on surveys, 43 percent are considering leaving.
Other governments should back efforts to ensure accountability for grave violations in Venezuela, including by supporting the ongoing investigation of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and imposing targeted sanctions on those responsible. They should also expand access to asylum and other forms of international protection for Venezuelans fleeing their country.