MIAMI, United States. — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) denounced the high number of political prisoners in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the three authoritarian regimes that still survive in Latin America.
In a release released this Thursday, the continental body accused Havana, Caracas and Managua of “instrumentalizing the judicial power to persecute and imprison people for political reasons.”
At the end of last November, the IACHR registered a total of 1,467 detainees for political reasons between the three countries. In this sense, the singing voice was taken by the Cuban regime, which kept 1,034 people behind bars, mostly protesters who participated in the anti-government protests on July 11, 2021 (11J).
Cuba was followed by Venezuela, with 247 political prisoners counted up to October of this year, and Nicaragua, with a total of 195 detainees.
The organization highlighted that these three regimes have developed models where judicial autonomy has been suppressed by the powers of the State.
“The independence and autonomy of the judiciary is an essential element for the existence of a rule of law,” the statement said.
The IACHR also recalled that people deprived of their liberty for political reasons in those countries are treated differently from the rest of the prison population, “which has caused a serious deterioration in health” in many of these inmates.
The organization also criticized the secrecy with which the authorities of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua handle the cases of political prisoners.
“There is little official information on the situation of the detainees, since they are isolated and it is difficult for them to maintain regular contact with their families and in some cases they are subjected to torture and cruel treatment,” the IACHR warned.
The Commission and its Office of the Special Rapporteur called on the States of the Americas to release all persons deprived of liberty for political reasons, as well as to respect and guarantee their life and personal integrity. Likewise, the agency encouraged the governments of the region to undertake humanitarian actions that allow verifying and improving their detention conditions, including facilitating visits by their relatives and lawyers in accordance with international law.
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