GENEVA – Despite limited improvements in the human rights situation in Venezuela, the state institutions responsible for repression, gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity remain intact, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela said today.
In its latest report and accompanying research paper, the Mission examined developments over the last year, detailed findings on ongoing human rights violations, and providing its most comprehensive analysis to date of years of serious human rights abuses committed by pro-Government civilian armed groups known as “colectivos,” and the links of those groups to the State.
The Mission observed a significant decline in long-term detentions and related enforced disappearances following the US military attack of 3 January 2026 and the apprehension of then-President Nicolás Maduro. In the period that followed, authorities released hundreds of people detained for political reasons and allowed somewhat greater space for protests, public gatherings and civil society participation.
However, these changes have not been accompanied by the institutional reforms required to ensure a meaningful and sustained improvement in the human rights situation. Numerous laws used to criminalize dissent remain in force, and the country’s extensive intelligence services and security forces retain essentially the same structures, policies and practices. No steps have been taken to disarm or dismantle the colectivos, who have been the source of pervasive intimidation and violence at community level. Journalists and other civil society actors continue to be obstructed in their daily work. At least 19 officials previously identified by the Mission for their involvement in gross violations remain in, or have been reassigned to, key positions, while impunity for past human rights violations and crimes persists.
“The reduction in some of the harshest forms of repression is notable, but it does not yet amount in any way to a transformation of the system that made them possible,” said Sofía Macher, Chair of the Mission. “Unless the repressive structures are dismantled, judicial independence is guaranteed and those responsible for human rights violations are duly investigated and sanctioned, any opening will remain fragile and reversible. Venezuelans deserve human rights change that is real and meaningful, not tentative and incomplete.”
The Mission continued to document patterns of torture and ill-treatment affecting people detained for political reasons. At the maximum-security prison El Rodeo I, it documented practices including forced intubation and prolonged confinement in a sealed underground cistern known as the “time machine.” At Fuerte Guaicaipuro, a military facility, it investigated the confinement of people in pit-like cells dug below ground level, exposure to cold, deprivation of food and other degrading practices. The Mission investigated 64 new cases of torture after 3 January alone, indicating that these practices remain widespread.
The Mission also warned that hundreds of people remain exposed to appalling detention conditions, with severely restricted access to safe drinking water, adequate food, medicines and health care. The Mission concluded that various cases of death in custody of persons detained for political reasons were linked to lack of access to adequate medical attention and ill-treatment. Among the cases investigated by the Mission was that of Víctor Quero Navas, a street vendor who died in custody while subjected to enforced disappearance. Despite her relentless quest for answers, his mother was only informed of his fate more than a year after his detention and ten months after he had died. Carmen Teresa Navas herself then passed away ten days later.
Between 1 September 2025 and 29 July 2026, civil society organizations recorded at least 214 arbitrary detentions for political reasons, 94 percent of which occurred before the end of 2025. After 3 January, the Mission identified a recurrent pattern of short-term arbitrary arrests aimed at intimidating opposition activists, journalists, and other civil society actors.
Although the releases significantly reduced the number of political prisoners, non-governmental organizations estimate between 379 and 500 people remained in detention. The absence of official, transparent and verifiable information makes it impossible to determine precisely who has been released, where those who remain detained are being held and what their legal status is.
“We call on the State authorities to take decisive steps towards accountability and to adopt a victim-centered transitional justice framework,” said María Eloisa Quintero, one the Mission’s experts. “Venezuela should also reverse its withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and cooperate fully with the Court and other international human rights mechanisms. Years of entrenched impunity must give way to accountability.”
The Mission called on the international community to support efforts to end repression, combat impunity and restore the rule of law.
“The United States and other influential actors must intensify efforts to press for and advance real human rights change in Venezuela, while also ensuring that their policies and actions neither contribute to human rights violations nor facilitate the commission of international crimes,” said Alex Neve, another expert with the Mission. “At the same time, the context described in our reports is such that States should continue to provide international protection to Venezuelans outside the country.”
The dedicated investigation into colectivos concluded that these groups are a central component of the State’s repressive apparatus and of a broader system of local governance and social control. They operate with varying degrees of institutional support and, in numerous cases, in coordination, complementarity or convergence with State authorities and security forces. The overlap is such that members of those forces have joined civilian armed groups, and vice versa.
The Mission found evidence of long-standing relationships encompassing political backing, direct and indirect financing, logistical and material support, operational coordination and institutional protection. It had reasonable grounds to believe that the Government regularly supplied colectivos with firearms, ammunition, motorcycles, mobile phones and radio equipment, facilitating their extensive involvement in the State’s repressive apparatus.
Colectivos have performed surveillance and intelligence functions, identified and located individuals sought by security bodies, and participated in the violent crackdown of demonstrations and selective repression of real or perceived Government opponents. Their control over community councils, public services and social programs has also enabled them to reward political loyalty and punish criticism or dissent.
The Mission determined that where colectivos exercise elements of public authority conferred under Venezuelan law, or act in specific operations on the instructions or under the direction or control of State organs, their conduct is attributable to the State. Irrespective of whether specific acts are attributable to the State, the Venezuelan government failed to fulfil its obligation to prevent, investigate, punish and provide reparation for abuses committed by these groups.
The reports will be presented to the Human Rights Council on 18 September 2026.
