Venezuelan dictatorship breaks record: 1,674 political prisoners

Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal tallied the highest number of political prisoners in Venezuela's recent history. Following the electoral fraud perpetrated by Nicolás Maduro, repression has worsened, and the dictatorship has arrested 1,674 people for political reasons. This is the highest number in the 21st century.

"We have registered and qualified the highest number of prisoners for political purposes known in Venezuela, at least in the 21st century. We continue receiving and registering detainees," wrote the Foro Penal in its latest report.

According to Spanish media outlet El Mundo, the figure also exceeds the number of political prisoners under other regimes such as Cuba, which has arrested 1,119 people for political reasons.

In this regard, Foro Penal also detailed that in addition, there are more than 9,000 people arbitrarily subjected to measures restricting their freedom. "Political detentions from 2014 to date: 17,355. People assisted by Foro Penal who have been released from prison: more than 14,000," the nonprofit organization highlighted.

Foro Penal's list was certified by Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro.

Despite the repression, the demonstrations against Nicolás Maduro have not ceased. The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (OVCS) registered 1,311 protests during the month of July 2024, equivalent to 44 per day, representing an increase of 219% compared to the same month last year.

The OVCS maintained that at least 70% of the protests recorded occurred on July 29 and 30. "In the month of July, Civil and Political Rights (CPR) were demanded in 1,177 protests, 90% of the total number. The demand for political rights, in the framework of the presidential elections, comprised the majority of the demonstrations," highlighted the observatory.

Also, the opposition leadership continues to call for peaceful demonstrations. In view of Maduro's refusal to recognize Edmundo González's victory. According to the voting records presented by the opposition, he obtained more than 60% of the votes in the electoral process held on July 28. Opposition leader María Corina Machado called on Venezuelans to protest on Aug. 28.

Machado's decision came after the Supreme Court of Justice, controlled by Nicolás Maduro, ratified the results presented by the dictatorship that ruled Maduro the winner.

"One month since our glorious victory, in which Edmundo González was elected president, Venezuelans will again head to the streets," Machado expressed.

The complaint about the lack of transparency in the results has even been supported by international organizations such as the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, which detailed that neither the Supreme Court of Justice nor the National Electoral Council are independent or impartial institutions.