Summary of the Findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela

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The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is one of a group of investigative bodies established by the United Nations Human Rights Council to examine situations involving serious human rights violations. This work is not limited to international human rights law but also incorporates international humanitarian law and international criminal law. This combination makes it possible not only to analyze state responsibility for the violations committed, but also to identify potential individual criminal liability.

The methodology used is based on the “reasonable grounds to believe” standard. This standard is met when the available information allows an objective observer to reasonably conclude that the events occurred as described. However, this standard of proof is not equivalent to a judicial determination of criminal liability, a function that falls exclusively to the competent courts.

The creation of the Mission on Venezuela in October 2019 was a significant development, as it was the first mechanism of its kind established for a country in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its establishment must be understood within the context of the profound political, institutional, and humanitarian crisis that Venezuela was undergoing. Between 2015 and 2019, political tensions escalated rapidly: the opposition won a parliamentary majority in 2015; subsequently, the National Assembly was declared in contempt by the Supreme Court of Justice; in 2018, Nicolás Maduro was reelected in widely contested elections; and in 2019, Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself interim president.

At the same time, social and political protests were met with severe state repression characterized by excessive use of force and the persecution of opposition figures. In this context, the Special Action Forces (FAES) were implicated in thousands of civilian deaths between 2018 and 2019. All of this occurred amid a severe economic, social, and humanitarian crisis that triggered one of the largest migration flows in the region’s recent history.

The first report by the Mission , presented in 2020, described a sustained process of institutional deterioration and the weakening of the rule of law since 2014. The investigation identified two major areas of violations: political repression and security operations ostensibly aimed at combating crime. According to the report’s findings, state agents committed extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detentions. Furthermore, the investigation identified those responsible at various levels of the chain of command, including high-ranking civilian, military, and judicial authorities. The Mission concluded that many of these violations were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, constituting crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute, to which Venezuela is a party.

Successive renewals of the mandate allowed for a more in-depth investigation. Over the years, the Mission examined the role played by key institutions of the state apparatus, including the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), the National Guard, and various bodies within the judicial system. Subsequent reports continued to document patterns of repression directed against sectors critical of the government.

One particularly significant report was the “2023 report”, which focused on restrictions on civic and democratic space. It noted that the government employed repressive mechanisms of varying intensity depending on the level of threat it perceived to its continued hold on power. During periods of high political mobilization, severe forms of repression were employed, while in other periods more subtle mechanisms that limited fundamental freedoms and political rights predominated.

The Mission also progressively expanded the scope of its investigations to other dimensions of the Venezuelan crisis. In 2022, it published a specific document on the Arco Minero del Orinoco, in which it examined the illegal exploitation of natural resources and the activities of criminal and armed groups operating with state tolerance.

The presidential elections of July 28, 2024, marked a new turning point. According to the Mission, the Venezuelan State reactivated and strengthened its harshest mechanisms of political repression. More than two thousand people were detained in the context of the post-election protests. The Mission concluded that several of the incidents investigated constituted a continuation of patterns previously identified as crimes against humanity and considered the possible existence of the crime of politically motivated persecution.

The gravity of these findings led the Human Rights Council to renew the Mission’s mandate once again in October 2024, requesting special attention to the electoral process, its consequences, and the actions of the so-called “colectivos.”

Finally, regarding the situation following the events of January 2026 , although a new political phase had begun, the Mission noted that significant obstacles to a genuine human rights-based transition persist. The structures responsible for the persecution have not been dismantled; several perpetrators continue to hold positions of power; and legal instruments used to restrict freedoms remain in force.

Furthermore, the Mission expressed concern over the limited and selective application of the recent Amnesty Law. Although thousands of people formally benefited from the law, only a small number of detainees were actually released. Hundreds of people remain arbitrarily detained for political reasons. The death in prison of Víctor Quero Navas was cited as an example of the persistence of serious abuses.

This summary concludes by noting that the current context could represent an opportunity to move toward respect for human rights, accountability, and national reconciliation. In this process, the work of the Mission and other international mechanisms is essential to identifying patterns of violations, establishing accountability, and contributing to the design of institutional reforms that will enable the building of a sustainable democratic transition in Venezuela.