Persecution in Venezuela: the political prisoners of Nicolás Maduro's regime rise to 859

Faced with increasing internal and external pressure following the proclamation of Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela, dictator Nicolás Maduro reacted with more violence and repression, both against the opposition and against the civilian population. This Monday, The Venezuelan Criminal Forum reported that to date there were 859 political prisoners of the Chavez regime.

The report of the Criminal Forum states that of this total, 97 are military and 792 are civilians. In addition, 68 are women and 791 are men, while the dictatorship of Chavez also provides for three minors in prison.

As every month, the NGO forwarded the report to the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, chaired by the former president. from Chile, Michelle Bachelet, for its "verification and certification".

Through the same social network, Luis Almagro, secretary general of the OAS, said the international body certified "the list of political prisoners in Venezuela's Criminal Forum".

Thus, the number of political prisoners has increased by nearly 70 compared to April. In the latest report presented by Alfredo Romero, director of the NGO, on the 24th of this month, the figure was 790.

In 2019, arrests by Chavez's forces increased in the context of mbadive demonstrations by the civilian population., which demands the fall of Maduro's dictatorship. Since Guaidó badumed the interim presidency, hundreds of thousands of citizens have expressed their support by mobilizing on the streets. Once again, the regime has responded to the popular will through repression, arbitrary arrests and persecution.

After last April 30, when Guaidó launched the final phase of the Libertad operation, the scheme was targeted by the opposition. The Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), of official line, has accused ten deputies of the opposition of having treason, conspiracy, incitement to insurrection, civil rebellion, conspiracy to commit a crime, usurpation of office and public instigation to disobey laws, for supporting the acting president. After this decision, the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), chaired by Diosdado Cabello, violated the immunity of parliamentarians.

For its part, the institute CASLA filed Thursday in The Hague a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegations of attacks by the security forces of Chavez against a private clinic and three churches.

Tamara Suju, director of the agency, explained to the EFE news agency that the goal was to "demonstrate that the crackdown has intensified" in Venezuela: "It does not matter anymore to attack a clinic or health center, which is punished internationally."

CASLA, which receives funding from the Czech State, has already submitted several documents to the ICC. More than 600 alleged cases of torture were reported to the Maduro regime.