Valentina Ballesta, research director of Amnesty International for the Americas, launched an accusation against the government of Nicolás Maduro: the coordinated use of all government institutions (the judicial, legislative and executive branches) to execute a repression policy systemic against any form of dissent.
In an exclusive interview with The Afternoon of NTN24, Ballesta emphasized that repression is not random, but rather a State mechanism designed to “generate this situation of anxiety in the population”. “We are talking about using all the mechanisms of the State: the judicial power, the legislative power and the executive through the police and intelligence agencies,” he said.
The context of Amnesty International’s statements focuses on the intensification of arbitrary detentions, particularly the pattern of kidnapping and arrest of relatives of opponents in exile.
Activist Tamara Sujú revealed the case of the lieutenant’s family exiled Christian Hernández Castillo. Just a few days after the kidnapping of teenager Samantha Hernández (16) was reported, government agents A second woman in the family, her sister Aranza de los Ángeles Hernández Castillo, disappeared.
Lieutenant Hernández is accused by the ruling party of having participated in the so-called ‘Operation Aurora’ of 2019. Howeverthe persecution extended to the entirety of his inner circle: his wife Maykelis Borges, his newborn son and his uncle, Henry Castillo, are currently under arrest.
Ballesta described these events as the “cruel use of the closest affections” as a punishment tool. He stressed that these violations are not limited to affecting the“target” person of the government, but they extend to impact their families and entire communities, amplifying political terror.
