March 12 - A United Nations fact-finding mission reported to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Thursday that Venezuela’s "repressive state" continues to operate in full following the removal of former President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in early January.
In its submission to the council, the mission said that the "institutional structures facilitating human rights violations have not been dismantled" and recorded 87 politically motivated detentions since Maduro’s ouster. The report noted that senior government and military figures previously identified as responsible for crimes against humanity remain in positions of substantial power.
The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles all press inquiries for the government, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the mission's findings.
Washington has criticized Venezuela for electoral fraud and political repression for years. The report reiterated that stance, while also noting recent developments in Caracas. The U.S. announced it would "take control" of Venezuela but has not pressed for new elections, and has described its relationship with Delcy Rodriguez, who had been Vice President under Maduro and has assumed the role of interim president, as positive.
Under Rodriguez's interim administration, major changes to oil and mining regulations have been enacted with the stated aim of encouraging investment. The government also adopted an amnesty law in connection with an agreement to free thousands of prisoners. Rodriguez's administration said in late February that nearly 2,200 people had been released under the amnesty, though local non-governmental organizations criticized the process for lacking transparency and suggested the actual number of freed detainees is considerably lower.
"There is still a repressive system, a justice system that is used to persecute," said Alfredo Romero, director of legal rights NGO Foro Penal, at a press conference on Thursday.
The U.N. mission urged the immediate release of all remaining political detainees and requested unfettered access to Venezuela to continue its inquiries. The team did not provide an estimate for how many people remain imprisoned.
Maria Eloisa Quintero, a lawyer representing the mission, summarized its position: "Venezuela cannot be said to truly be on the road to human rights reform unless and until that repressive apparatus is dismantled."
The report thus paints a picture of continuity in Venezuela's coercive institutions despite changes in formal leadership and regulatory policy aimed at attracting investment. It highlights a persistent justice and security architecture that, according to the mission, continues to facilitate human rights violations while raising questions about the transparency and scope of recent prisoner releases.