Prologue
Eleanor Openshaw
Director of the Latin America and the Caribbean Program at the International Service for Human Rights
Introduction
A 36-year multidisciplinary investigation into the situation of 14 human rights violations in Venezuela.
In 2024, Venezuela continued to be mired in a dire social situation, with the minimum wage stagnating since 2022, particularly affecting older adults, whose pensions are attached to this value. A high incidence of poverty and food insecurity remained, and the decline in basic services, public health, and education continued. Adding to this difficult situation, there are new restrictions on civil society organizations and the popular will was disregarded in the last presidential election. In this special section, we detail how the stages of this process unfolded, which meant a clear violation of the Constitution’s Article 5: “Sovereignty resides inalienably in the people.”
Prologue
Context | Venezuela 2024
Context | Venezuela 2024
Social Emergency and the Seizure of Popular Sovereignty
With the disregard for the desires for change expressed in the July 28 elections and the repression of subsequent protests, democratic institutions and the rule of law were definitively undermined.
There was moderate economic growth in 2024 (3.9%), driven by oil production, but this did not translate into increases in the minimum wage or in the resources allocated to social protection policies.
The Complex Humanitarian Emergency keeps 86.9% of the population in poverty. The need for humanitarian assistance also includes 7.7 million people who have been forcibly displaced.
2025 poses major challenges for Venezuelan civil society due to repression, the closure of civic space, and the violation of the population’s social rights.
1. Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights
Right to Food
Unremitting Hunger
Eating in Venezuela remains a luxury for millions. Venezuela remains among the 10 countries with the highest food inflation in the world. In 2024, the minimum wage only covered 0.5% of the family food basket. 43% of the population faces food insecurity without stable access to sufficient quality food.
10.5% of children are short for their age, and 9.3% of babies are diagnosed with low birth weight. The nutritional situation of pregnant women also reflects this crisis: 24.2% suffer from anemia. Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, denounced the nutritional situation of the most vulnerable population during his visit to the country.
National production continues to be affected by the structural crisis in the agri-food sector. Between 2007 and 2023, production fell by 30%. The cultivated area decreased 43% in 2024.
Right to a Healthy Environment
Environmental Emergency Without Pause
Environmental Pollution: At least 34 oil spills in 2024; Falcón (44%) and Zulia (29%) are the most affected states. 70% of Lake Maracaibo is covered by a cyanobacterium called “verdín”, a phenomenon that compromises the health of communities. At least five watersheds in the Bolívar and Amazon basins have high mercury contamination.
Deforestation: In two parishes in the Torres municipality (Lara state), between 60% and 70% of the forest has been destroyed due to charcoal mining. Between 2023 and 2024, Venezuela lost between 75,000 and 85,000 hectares of forest due to mining in regions such as Essequibo and Delta Amacuro.
The water crisis persists: 69.2% of the population suffers severe restrictions in accessing clean water, while the Orinoco Mining Arc remains a zone of destruction and death. In Yapacana National Park alone, 31 hectares were deforested, and 28 miners died in 10 reported accidents.
Right to Education
Abandoned schools, children at risk
48.1% of the student population attends school irregularly. In 2024, 70% did not receive the PAE (School Food Program) in 2024. No measures were announced to reduce economic barriers to school access. Curriculum reform in secondary education is progressing without official information for schools, teachers and communities.
The percentage of education spending in the national budget fell between 2023 and 2024: in the Ministry of Education, it went from 18.6% to 10.3%, and in the Ministry of Higher Education, it fell from 5.7% to 2.6%. 40% of the labor unrest in 2024 was rooted in the education sector because teachers did not receive salary increases and collective bargaining agreements were violated.
University students continue without student benefits, like transportation or dining services. 45 university students were detained as part of the post-election repression. A ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice suspended the elections of new authorities at the University of Los Andes, a new violation of university autonomy.
Labor Rights
A Thousand Days of Starvation Wages, Employment Without Rights
The minimum wage in Venezuela has been stuck at 130 bolívares (US$2.50 per month) for more than 1,000 days: Venezuela ranks last in the Americas in terms of minimum wage, which has increased income inequality between public and private employees.
There were 1,075 labor protests, 20.6% of the national total. After July 28, at least 395 public employee dismissals as political reprisals were reported.
The gender gap in labor force participation remains at 23%, and a significant wage gap persists: Venezuelan women earn 22% less than men. Additionally, they continue to shoulder the brunt of unpaid domestic work: 6 hours and 18 minutes a day, almost doubling men’s dedication.
Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Mining, Violence, and Abandonment: The Triple Burden of Indigenous Peoples in Venezuela
Illegal mining is expanding through Indigenous territories, with serious impacts on the environment, as well as the communities’ health and security. Six basins in the Orinoco Mining Arc are contaminated by mercury, affecting communities in Amazonas and Bolívar. New extraction areas in national parks and sacred rivers intensify the threat.
The crisis is also social: 31% of the Indigenous population is illiterate, 55% are unemployed, and 98% do not attend medical consultations, according to the organization Kapé Kapé. The devastation of the territory is accompanied by militarization, human trafficking, sexual violence, forced labor, and the recruitment of minors.
In 2024, two murders highlighted the ongoing risk faced by Indigenous defenders: Joaquín Hernández, a Yekuana leader from the state of Amazonas, and Josiah K’Okal, a missionary and defender in Delta Amacuro. Since 2022, seven people have been murdered.
Right to Health
Inoperative System: Health in Chronic Crisis
Eight out of 10 public health centers were unable to serve the Venezuelan population. More than 75% of trained medical and nursing staff have left public hospitals. Official epidemiological data have not been published since 2016, making it difficult to understand the true state of the country’s health system.
69.3% of the population lacked access to health services. 11.2 million people with serious illnesses (39.4%) lack access to medical care, according to the HumVenezuela Platform. Although the humanitarian response plan could be a support, the available funds only covered 28% of what was required.
Provea recorded 99,013 complaints related to the right to health in 2024, mainly due to a lack of services, personnel, and accessibility. Most pointed to structural problems that remain unresolved.
Right to Social Security
Without decent pensions or transparency
In 2024, social security in Venezuela kept deteriorating. Pensions remained attached to the minimum wage of 130 bolívares (USD 2.5 per month). Faced with this precariousness, retirees and pensioners did not remain silent: they held 347 protests, 7% of the registered demonstrations during 2024.
The budget allocated to social security fell from 24% of public spending in 2023 to 13% in 2024. The approval of a new Pension Law did not represent any improvements for retirees or pensioners. The funds raised under this law remain opaque, without transparency or accountability mechanisms.
Despite official rhetoric about social investment, the bonuses distributed through the Patria system do not constitute an effective protection system: if a family received all the possible bonuses throughout 2024, they would have accumulated only USD 92.89.
Right to Land
Less Production, More Conflicts
In 2024, the planted area in Venezuela decreased by 40%, and national production only covered 57% of domestic demand for vegetables, according to Fedeagro. The lack of agricultural financing (Venezuela is the country with the lowest credit levels in the continent) limits the adoption of technology and compromises food sovereignty.
The decline in food production goes hand in hand with the weakening of fair and secure access to land.
The State awarded 270 agricultural land titles in three states and 1,624 urban titles in six, while irregularities persist: six violations of due process in land matters and 20 conflicts related to land rights were reported in at least nine states, with Barinas and Amazonas being the most affected.
Right to Housing
Lies as State Policy
Although the government announced a goal of 500,000 homes built in 2024, Provea was only able to verify the delivery of 1,468 homes, barely 0.29% of what was promised. In 11 years of government, 136,239 homes have been delivered, 2.6% compared to the 5,100,000 homes the national authorities claim to have built on July 27, 2024.
While Maduro claimed that the construction sector grew 25.9%, figures from Fedecámaras showed a 2.2% drop in the second quarter of the year. The contrast between official rhetoric and reality is also evident on the streets: 24.8% of social conflicts were related to the right to housing.
Availability of basic housing services kept decreasing: 45.6% of households reported constant water shortages, 66% reported power outages, and 16.3% sanitation services.
Additionally, there are complaints about arbitrary evictions and corruption: in October, 10 officials were arrested for threatening occupants of the GMVV with weapons to resell these homes.
2. Civil and Political Rights
Right to Personal Integrity
To Hurt in Order to Silence: The Body Under Repression in Venezuela
Between January and December 2024, Provea documented 209 complaints of violations of the right to personal integrity, involving 2,808 victims. This is a 5.8% increase compared to 2023.
2,224 people were victims of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment, representing an alarming 88.1% increase over the last year. There were 72 illegal raids nationwide, a 300% increase compared to 2023, despite the existing underreporting.
The Prison Guard Corps was the responsible of the majority of cases reported, with 2,097 victims (74.6% of the total) in Venezuelan prisons, followed by the CICPC (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Cientíicas, Penales y Criminalísticas) with 106 victims and joint actions by the GNB (National Guard) and the DGCIM (Dirección General de Contra Inteligencia Militar) with 100 victims.
Right to Justice
A Biased Judiciary
The Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) continues to be ruled by partisan actors and in 2024 played a key role in ignoring the popular will expressed in the July 28 elections by usurping the functions of the National Electoral Council (CNE). Its lack of impartiality was demonstrated by its failure to admit appeals filed by various actors seeking institutional solutions.
Of the politically motivated arrests between January and August 2024 for which the judicial process could be documented, it was found that 97% of the victims suffered a violation of their right to defense. They generally suffered from lack of access to the case file, massive and virtual presentation hearings, the imposition of a public defender, failure to comply with release orders, exceeding the maximum period of pretrial detention, and procedural delays.
Venezuela ranks last on the World Justice Project index. This index—with a maximum value of 1—fell from 0.31 in 2015 to 0.26 in 2024.
Right to Personal Freedom
The Price of Being a Dissident: Detention or Disappearance
The repression during 2024 left alarming figures: 2,635 violations of personal freedom, an increase of 1,347.8% compared to 2023. Ninety-four percent of the cases occurred during the post-election cycle of unrest. The political repression primarily targeted popular sectors: more than 95% of those arrested were residents of impoverished communities.
For 16 consecutive days, the daily average of arrests was 150 people, far exceeding the peaks of previous years: 28.8 in 2014, 17 in 2017, and 16 in 2019. Among those arrested, the majority were men (78.8%), while 5.8% were adolescents.
Furthermore, reports of enforced disappearances increased by 671.42%. It has become a common practice that people detained by security forces are not brought to court in a timely manner, and family members and lawyers are not informed of their location.
Right to Freedom of Association and Participation
Civic space and opportunities for electoral participation are closed
Two popular consultation processes were held on communal council projects. An election for justices of the peace was also held. There is no official data on how many people voted in these elections.
The presidential election took place in an environment without guarantees for the campaign. The population also saw their right to participate restricted by obstacles for the Electoral Registry. Nearly 3 million young people could be unable to vote.
The trend of closing the civic space continued with the approval of the Law on NGOs and the Simón Bolívar Law. With this new legal framework, civil society organizations will be at risk. Post-election repression affected human rights defenders: eight defenders were detained and at least 36 had their passports revoked.
Right to Life
Extrajudicial Executions Continue
522 people were killed by law enforcement officers during 2024. 65% of the victims were young people between the ages of 18 and 30, and 3.36% were adolescents, mostly from working-class areas. In the last five years, police and military personnel have killed 6,414 people in Venezuela. Almost all of these incidents are presented as confrontations.
The Bolivarian National Police (PNB) was the agency with the highest rate of arbitrary use of lethality. 151 people were killed under its command, accounting for 29% of the cases. This force has held first place since 2022. The CICPC (National Commission for the Protection of Public Security) is in second place.
State institutions are attempting to normalize the killing of suspected criminals. Therefore, murders perpetrated by police and military personnel during citizen security operations are virtually uninvestigated. Faced with this, committees formed by victims’ families continue to demand justice and in 2024 secured the conviction of several police officers.
Procedures in International Human Rights Protection System
The International Community Keeps its Eyes on Venezuela
In February 2024, Nicolás Maduro’s government suspended the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Venezuela. After being invited to reopen the office in May, the High Commissioner announced the partial resumption of its activities in Caracas in December.
The United Nations Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela for two more years, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was mandated to submit reports on the human rights situation. Several special mechanisms spoke out to denounce the post-electoral repression.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights followed up on the repression with pronouncements and a record number of precautionary measures. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights found non-compliance by the Venezuelan State in six judgments and issued two new rulings in favor of the victims.
Special Report: The route of Democratic Closure
Special Report: The route of Democratic Closure
The repression began in January 2024 with the announcement of the “Bolivarian fury”: attacks on 20 organizations in 11 states and the arrest of 32 people on January 23.
There were multiple obstacles to the Electoral Registry. 25% of voters were unable to participate due to illegal requirements for voting abroad. 3 million new voters were also unable to register in Venezuela.
The campaign was the most unequal in our history. Along with official advantage, there were arrests, fines, and closures of companies that provided services to the opposition campaign. Furthermore, violations of freedom of expression increased: harassment, detentions, and censorship.
On June 28, the CNE announced that it had been the victim of a terrorist cyberattack. Since then, the website www.cne.gob.ve has remained down. The first official announcement gave Maduro the victory with 51.2% of the vote.
The population spontaneously protested this announcement. Between July 29 and 30, 915 protests were recorded in 20 states, 15% of which were repressed. Much of the repression was concentrated in working-class areas. Twenty-five people were killed during the demonstrations. A total of 2,400 people were reportedly arrested, many of whom were accused of snitching. Forced disappearances and extortion of police officers were reported.
Requirements and recommendations
Requirements and recommendations
This massive violation of human rights will only end when the demands for justice and equal rights for all people are heard and institutions once again fulfill their constitutional mandate and the rule of law. Based on the diagnosis in the Annual Report, we present a set of demands that can guide the country in creating the policies necessary to restore the full enjoyment of rights to the Venezuelan population.
Right to Food
Addressing malnutrition from its immediate causes, such as food security and health, as well as its underlying causes, which involves adapting water, electricity, and sanitation services, with a focus on biologically, geographically, and ethnically vulnerable populations, as well as those under state care.
Labor Rights
Guarantee decent wages through constitutional and participatory mechanisms: Implement urgent policies to restore workers' purchasing power, ensuring that wage adjustments are agreed upon through the mechanisms provided for in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (CRBV) and collective bargaining agreements. These agreements must be formalized in a transparent manner to combat extreme poverty, protect social benefits, and improve working conditions.
Education
Active policies must be developed to reduce economic barriers to access to education by providing uniforms and supplies, creating school or classroom libraries, expanding the School Food Program or university cafeterias, and redesigning student bus fares and other programs that guarantee material access to education at all levels.
Health
Dedicate the State maximum efforts, and with absolute urgency, to the recovery of the public health system’s capacities throughout the country, starting with the creation of a Health Law, in accordance with constitutional provisions, with broad consultation with health unions, the scientific and academic community, civil society, the private sector, citizens and communities in general. It is needed and organic integration of the different health systems, under a health authority with governing and budgetary capacities.
Social Security
Develop an inclusive pension system for the entire population that is distinct from workplace-related pensions.
Housing
Sanction the proselytizing use of social housing programs, as these constitute forms of discrimination. The housing allocation system must be transparent and have eligibility criteria that are widely known to applicants.
Land
To broadly and effectively guarantee the right to land for small-scale producers, peasants, and agricultural producers in general, including ownership, by adopting as state policy a systematic plan for the allocation, delivery, and ownership of land, providing economic resources to boost agricultural activity and ensure food security for the population.
Indigenous Peoples
Implement an urgent, comprehensive, culturally relevant food and health programs to address the ongoing Complex Humanitarian Emergency and forced migration Indigenous peoples are facing. These programs should have special attention to the Warao, Pemón, Yukpa, Jivi, Wayúu, and Pumé Indigenous peoples and should include promote traditional agricultural and tourism activities with community participation and informed knowledge, in order to generate alternatives to mining.
Healthy Environment
The Ministry for Water Resources (Minaguas) should publish a document diagnosing the priorities for water storage, distribution, and collection infrastructure nationwide, including the appropriate budget for the required investments.
Personal Freedom
The Ombudsman's Office, the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the Public Defense Department must ensure immediate intervention, with officers on duty 24 hours a day, to safeguard the rights of detainees, in addition to keeping detailed records in cases where human rights violations occur. Due process and the right to defense with trusted attorneys must be respected.
Personal Integrity
The National Assembly must reform the Special Law to Prevent Torture and Other Cruel Treatment and harmonize the concept of torture contained in this legal instrument with Article 17 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The State must also create a decentralized national program for the comprehensive rehabilitation of torture victims.
Justice
Stop using the justice system to restrict fundamental freedoms, persecute political dissidents, and systematically violate human rights.
Freedom of Association and Participation
The CNE must launch its website, publish recent election results, and publish its electoral gazettes.
Right to Life
Adopt the recommendations on citizen security and the use of force provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations (UN) Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
