MIAMI, United States. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) denounced this Tuesday the electoral fraud committed by the regime of Nicolas Maduro and urged the democratic nations of the continent not to normalize the serious situation that affects the Venezuelan people.
In a press conferencecommissioners and rapporteurs of the IACHR addressed the Venezuelan case in depth. The human rights crisis, especially in the civil and political sphere, has worsened after the presidential elections of July 28, in which, according to electoral records compiled by the opposition, the winner was the former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia.
Although the opposition has presented 85% of the minutes, scanned and published online, the Maduro regime insists on its victory without showing concrete evidence. Various bodies, including the IACHR, support the claim that González Urrutia obtained 70% of the votes compared to 30% for Maduro, data corroborated by the Carter Center, the only international organization that was able to observe the electoral process within Venezuela.
“What happened and what is happening cannot be accepted and cannot be normalized. To date, the electoral authorities of Venezuela continue to refuse to publish the minutes of the presidential elections,” declared Roberta Clarke, president of the IACHR, during the press conference.
Gloria Monique de Mees, IACHR rapporteur for Venezuela, stressed the need for a “coordinated multilateral diplomatic effort” to support the country in a peaceful transition to democracy. “It is essential to restore the rule of law and hold accountable those who have violated human rights in recent decades and, especially, in recent months,” he said.
According to the IACHR, after the elections in which the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed Maduro’s re-election without publishing the minutes, some 300 spontaneous protests were registered that were repressed. Given the absence of disaggregated results and the failure to display the minutes by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the IACHR declared Maduro’s victory proclamation as “illegitimate.”
Clarke insisted that the international community must “continue to call for accountability and the publication of the scrutiny minutes.” In addition, the organization has documented various violations of basic human rights in the repressive wave that followed July 28.
“Those detained face criminal charges that carry excessively harsh penalties. These charges include incitement to hatred, terrorism, conspiracy, treason, criminal association, resistance to authority, obstruction of roads and disobedience, and are a clear attempt to undermine the exercise of freedom of expression,” De Mees detailed.
Clarke added that the improper use of force has been confirmed, resulting in persecutions, deaths, arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances and restrictions on freedom of expression. “The Government has raped and repressed people for demonstrating against the election results. “This is a political reality for those who dare to raise their voices,” he emphasized.
The massive migration of Venezuelans is also a cause of concern for the IACHR. Andrea Pochak, commissioner specializing in migration issues, warned that, if the political and social situation does not improve, citizens will continue “to be expelled from the country.” International organizations estimate that around eight million Venezuelans have emigrated since 2015, representing approximately a quarter of the population. After the electoral fraud and the subsequent repression, an uptick has been observed in the departure of people towards the borders with Brazil and Colombia.
“The IACHR is monitoring the situation of people who have been expelled or who have left Venezuela. In 2023, this body issued a specific report on migrants and refugees. We continue to encourage transit and host countries to express their solidarity with their citizens,” Pochak said from Washington.
