Press Release

More than a dozen people killed in protests in Venezuela

In response to reports that at least a dozen people were killed in the context of the protests in Venezuela, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “Since the…

January 24, 2019
TOPSHOT - Venezuelans opposed to President Nicolas Maduro hold a demonstration in Medellin, Colombia in support of opposition leader Juan Guaido's self-proclamation as acting president of Venezuela, on January 23, 2019. (Photo by JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Venezuela must respond for deadly security operation

The operation by security forces to arrest the former CICPC (Scientific Investigation Police) official Óscar Pérez and others who had risen against the government, appears to be illegal and raise…

January 17, 2018
Members of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) patrol Caracas as an operation to capture Oscar Perez, the Venezuelan helicopter pilot who dropped grenades on the Supreme Court last year during anti-government protests, is carried out on January 15, 2018. Several people, including two police officers, were killed in an operation to capture Oscar Perez, A ministry statement said members of a "terrorist cell" were killed, and five were arrested in the operation, but did not say whether the pilot, was among the dead or detained. / AFP PHOTO / JUAN BARRETO (Photo credit should read JUAN BARRETO/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Venezuela at breaking point as opposition leaders seized from homes

The seizure of two opposition leaders in Caracas late last night is a telling sign that the Maduro administration is desperate to silence all forms of criticism as the political…

August 1, 2017
Opposition activists shout slogans while members of the National Orchestra System hold a demonstration in rejection of the recent deaths of young people by security forces -within opposition protests- in Caracas on May 7, 2017. The last death in Venezuela's unrest, of a 22-year-old man, occurred during looting in Valencia, one of Venezuelan cities hardest hit by a worsening economic crisis. Demonstrators blame Maduro for the country's plight and the shortages of food and medicine, and demand elections to remove the leftist president. / AFP PHOTO / JUAN BARRETO (Photo credit should read JUAN BARRETO/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Venezuela: Acts of violence highlight government’s disregard for human rights

The dramatic increase in illegal use of force, scores of arbitrary detentions and the killing of at least 10 people, among other worrying attacks against the people of Venezuela recorded…

July 31, 2017
Since 4 April, there have been at least 60 people reported dead and 1,000 injured in the context of the political crisis, according to official figures. According to local NGOs, hundreds of people have been unfairly imprisoned in the context of massive anti-government demonstrations that have been taking place across Venezuela. More than 300 people are believed to have been taken to military courts, accused of crimes such as “rebellion”, “terrorism” and “treason”, and effectively treated like soldiers in an armed conflict. Over recent weeks, security forces have used undue force to prevent peaceful demonstrations from taking place. Individuals living in residential areas, and not taking part in demonstrations, have also reported being victims of indiscriminate tear gas attacks. The community in La Isabelica, Carabobo, is a striking example of the extent of the indiscriminate use of violence against people not involved in the recent wave of protests. Amnesty International has received direct reports of random shootings against civilians, tear gas being shot straight into homes, and a sense of generalized fear to report these incident to the authorities.

Press Release

Venezuela: Ban on protests lays groundwork for mass human rights violations

The security plan announced ahead of the elections for the Constituent Assembly in Venezuela this Sunday banning protests against the vote is laying the groundwork for a new wave of…

July 28, 2017
Opposition activists shout slogans while members of the National Orchestra System hold a demonstration in rejection of the recent deaths of young people by security forces -within opposition protests- in Caracas on May 7, 2017. The last death in Venezuela's unrest, of a 22-year-old man, occurred during looting in Valencia, one of Venezuelan cities hardest hit by a worsening economic crisis. Demonstrators blame Maduro for the country's plight and the shortages of food and medicine, and demand elections to remove the leftist president. / AFP PHOTO / JUAN BARRETO (Photo credit should read JUAN BARRETO/AFP/Getty Images)