A report published by the UN on Tuesday (20) states that possible crimes against humanity have been documented in Venezuela under the regime of Nicolás Maduro. The material lists episodes of physical and psychological torture and sexual violence.
The document is the result of the work of the United Nations International Mission in the Latin American country, established in 2019. The group had already warned of the existence of violations against humanity with the endorsement of high-ranking figures in the regime two years ago.
The current report brings together 122 cases of people subjected to torture in cases involving the participation of the Directorate of Military Counter-Intelligence and the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin) since 2014. Beatings, use of electrical discharges and asphyxiation are some of the practices reported by opponents. of the dictatorship.
“Our investigations have shown that the Venezuelan state uses intelligence services and its agents to repress dissent,” said Marta Valiñas, who presides over the mission, during the launch of the report in Geneva. “This plan was orchestrated at the highest political level, led by President Nicolás Maduro.”
Many of the cases, says the material, would have taken place at the headquarters of Venezuelan military intelligence, in the Boleíta neighborhood of the capital Caracas. According to the UN, Maduro and Diosdado Cabello, deputy with a leading role in the regime, would have given direct orders over some of those tortured.
Among the victims would be opposition politicians, social activists and even the military considered dissidents and critics of the dictatorship.
Some inmates at Sebin reported to the mission that they were in degrading conditions, describing routines such as having to urinate in bottles because they were only allowed to go to the bathroom once a day. In all, 246 interviews were carried out with victims, in addition to family members and former security services employees.
The UN mission also monitored the situation in the Arco Minero del Orinoco, the Venezuelan government’s megaproject that occupies 112,000 km² of the Amazon rainforest – or 12% of the country’s territory. There, the report says, there were murders, enforced disappearances and torture.
“The local population, including indigenous peoples, is involved in a violent battle between state actors and armed groups that want control of the gold,” an excerpt reads.
The material calls for a more extensive investigation into the region. Patricia Tapata Valdez, a member of the mission, described the situation in the state of Bolívar, where the arch is located, as deeply worrying.
Also this Tuesday, the context of Venezuela appeared in the speeches of different Latin American leaders during the UN General Assembly in New York. President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) mentioned the economic crisis in the country and the huge flow of refugees to affirm that Brazil has promoted the reception of immigrants.
Chilean Gabriel Boric, who debuted in the UN pulpit, also mentioned the matter. “The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, a product of the political crisis, has generated an unprecedented migratory flow,” he said.
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