UN report finds Nicolás Maduro and Venezuelan intelligence agency guilty of crimes against humanity

September 22, 2022

Amidst the backdrop of the UN General Assembly, a new report published by the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (FFMV) found that Nicolás Maduro and the country's intelligence agencies were committing crimes against humanity against the Venezuelan people in an effort to squash dissent. Violations included acts of torture and sexual violence, and were targeted towards “opposition politicians, journalists, protesters, and human rights defenders,” reports the Guardian. Marta Valiñas, Chair of the UN FFMV, said that “Our investigations and analysis show that the Venezuelan State relies on the intelligence services and its agents to repress dissent in the country. In doing so, grave crimes and human rights violations are being committed.” According to the Washington Post, most cases of violations occurred at Venezuela’s intelligence agency headquarters, El Helicoide, with orders for the abuse often coming from Nicolás Maduro himself, as well as other high-level authorities.

The FFMV began its work in 2019, investigating extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detentions. The FFMV has never been granted access to enter Venezuela itself, though through a series of confidential interviews, legal documents, case files, and other resources, it was able to identify the chain of command that led to the orders of abuse, including the roles of specific individuals in charge of carrying out orders by Nicolás Maduro and vice president Diosdado Cabello. Nearly 250 interviews were conducted with “victims, their family members, and former employees of the security and intelligence services,” says the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Cronista reports that, though most of the cases investigated by the FFMV occurred in 2017, 2018, and 2019, the abuses carried out by the Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) and the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) still occur today.

Argentina

• In August, Argentina faced a commercial deficit for the third consecutive month, with a $300 million difference between imports and exports, reports Infobae. 

Brazil

• As Brian Winter notes on Twitter, Lula is gaining last-minute support from political figures mere days before Brazil’s presidential election. Notably, Miguel Reale Jr., one of the authors of the articles of impeachment against Dilma Roussef, was one of the figures to express support for Lula.

• According to Folha, Brazil’s Supreme Court has voted to maintain a suspension on decrees emitted by the Bolsonaro administration which facilitated wider access to guns. 

• About 80% of Brazil’s more than 30 trans political candidates have received threats or been intimidated during this election cycle, having been targeted specifically for their gender identity, reports Reuters. 

Colombia

• This year, Colombia lost more than 11 percent of its forest in the Amazon compared to the same period last year, says Financial Times. Gustavo Petro’s plan to crack down on illegal clearances aims to target the drivers of deforestation and prevent additional environmental damage.  

• Senior Researcher for Human Rights Watch Juan Pappier believes Petro’s decision to engage in dialogue with criminal organizations, namely the ELN, is a mistake, as it gives a political status to these groups, says El Espectador.

• Colombia’s Supreme Court ordered the arrest of former Supreme Court magistrate Leonidas Bustos, who was embroiled in the country’s largest judicial corruption scandal in recent history, according to Colombia Reports.

Costa Rica

• Costa Rica’s legislative assembly will form an investigative commission to examine irregularities in President Rodrigo Chaves’ presidential campaign. According to James Bosworth and Lucy Hale from the Latin America Risk Report, “There is no reason to expect that the investigation will face significant partisan interference, and the even distribution of political parties on the congressional commission further supports the nonpartisan nature of the investigations.” 

Cuba

• The US will “resume full immigrant visa processing for the first time since 2017” and “accelerate [the] processing of Cuban family reunification” in an effort to further deepen relations with Cuba, announced the US Embassy in Havana.

Haiti

• A new International Crisis Group publication argues that elections in Haiti are not urgent; international assistance should instead focus on offering aid to those affected by natural disasters, and should provide “backing for prosecuting high-level crimes, police reform and support for a broad-based representative and inclusive interim government.” 

• Amnesty International, Haitian Bridge Alliance, UndocuBlack Network, and Communities United for Status and Protection are leading a protest on Washington, DC’s Capitol Hill this morning, calling “for an end to the anti-Black and traumatic ill-treatment of Haitian asylum seekers by US authorities, which amounts to race-based torture under international human rights law.” The protest will be followed by a press conference, reports Amnesty International.

Mexico

• As migration to the US continues to increase, Mexico finds itself facing logistical, security, and administrative challenges, causing additional hardships and unsustainable conditions for migrants, reports the New Humanitarian.  

• Reforma announces that 30 culturally-recognized buildings were damaged in Mexico following the country’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

Regional

• Mauricio Claver-Carone, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), could be removed from his position as early as this week, reports Reuters. According to AP, an independent investigation concluded that Claver-Carone had an intimate relationship with his chief of staff, and did not collaborate with the subsequent probe into the affair.

Venezuela

• Military contractor “Fat Leonard,” who masterminded a bribery scandal involving the US Navy, was arrested in Venezuela after fleeing from house arrest in California, reports CBS. On Twitter, James Bosworth analyzes the probability of Fat Leonard being used as a pawn by Venezuelan authorities in potential negotiations for Alex Saab.