Venezuela: The independent international mission observes responsibilities for crimes against humanity

The independent international fact-finding mission of the United Nations on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has released its latest report on Tuesday at a press conference in which it indicates that the State intelligence services, both civilian and military, they function as well-coordinated and effective structures to “suppress dissent through the commission of crimes against humanity”.

In the report, the Mission urges the authorities to investigate their responsibilities and judge them accordingly.

“Our investigations and analysis show that the Venezuelan state uses the intelligence services and their agents to suppress dissent in the country. This leads to the commission of serious crimes and human rights violations, including acts of torture and sexual violence. These practices must cease immediately and those responsible must be investigated. and prosecuted in accordance with the law,” said Marta Valiñas, president of the Mission.

Repression of dissent through state intelligence agencies

According to a press release from the Mission, the report “provides a detailed analysis of the role played by people at different levels of the chains of command of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) and the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), in the execution of a plan orchestrated by President Nicolás Maduro and other high-level authorities to repress opposition to the Government.”

The Mission claims to have documented 122 cases of victims who were subjected to torture, sexual violence or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment perpetrated by DGCIM agents. The torture was carried out at its “Boleíta” headquarters in Caracas, and in a network of covert detention centers throughout the country.

SEBIN also reportedly tortured or ill-treated detainees, including opposition politicians, journalists, protesters, and human rights defenders, mainly in the “El Helicoide” detention center in Caracas.

The Mission has investigated 51 cases that occurred since 2014. The report details how the orders were given by higher-level authorities to lower-ranking officials.

And it adds that the violations and crimes of the SEBIN and the DGCIM continue to this day, since the same structures, patterns and practices are maintained in “a climate of almost total impunity.”

Human rights violations and abuses in the Arco Minero region

In another report also released this Tuesday, this same mechanism puts the magnifying glass on the situation in remote mining areas and highlights that the situation in the state of Bolívar, in the south of the country, where it assures that state and non-state actors have committed a series of violations and crimes against local populations, in gold mining areas.

The document indicates that since, in 2016, the Venezuelan Government established the Orinoco Mining Arc as a “National Strategic Development Zone”, the area has been heavily militarized, while criminal armed groups continue to operate openly, controlling the mines and the populations. .

Among other human rights violations, the report speaks of arbitrary deprivation of life, disappearances, extortion, corporal punishment and sexual and gender violence.

In the Gran Sabana municipality, in the south of the state, the Mission indicates that it has documented in depth several cases in which State forces have attacked indigenous populations, committing a series of violations. Among them, he cites “the clashes that occurred in 2019 after the opposition attempted to transfer humanitarian aid to Gran Sabana from Brazil, when state forces committed torture and arbitrary deprivation of life against indigenous people.”

“Our report highlights the need to continue investigating this region that, paradoxically, is an almost forgotten area of ​​the country, but, at the same time, generates legal and illegal wealth from minerals in immense quantities,” said Patricia Tappatá Valdez , member of the Mission.

The Mission based the conclusions of both reports on 246 confidential interviews with victims, their relatives, and former officials of the security and intelligence services.

Interviews were conducted both in person and remotely, using secure telephone or video connections. In addition, court files and other documents related to the incidents were analyzed.

The Mission visited areas near the borders with the country, because since its establishment in 2019 it continues to be unable to access Venezuelan territory.

*In September 2019, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations established the International Independent Investigation Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (MIIV) through resolution 42/25, for one year, to evaluate the alleged human rights violations committed since 2014. In October 2020, through its resolution 45/20, the Human Rights Council extended the MIIV’s mandate for two more years, until September 2022.