Venezuela

Abstract

In 2014, security forces used excessive force against largely peaceful demonstrators, many of whom were arbitrarily arrested, subject to severe beatings and other abuses during their detention, and denied basic due process rights. These human rights violations, which occurred over a period of several weeks in different locations, were practiced systematically by Venezuelan security forces.Under the leadership of President Hugo Chávez and now President Nicolás Maduro, the accumulation of power in the executive branch and the erosion of human rights guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate, censor, and prosecute its critics. While some Venezuelans continue to criticize the government, the prospect of reprisals—in the form of arbitrary or abusive state action— has undercut judicial independence, and forced journalists and rights defenders to weigh the consequences of publicizing information and opinions that are critical of the government.Police abuse, poor prison conditions, and impunity for abuses by security forces remain serious problems.Beginning in February 2014, state security forces—including the Bolivarian National Guard, the Bolivarian National Police, and state police forces—routinely used unlawful force against unarmed protesters and bystanders. The violations included severe beatings; the indiscriminate firing of live ammunition, rubber bullets, and teargas into crowds; and, in some cases, the deliberate firing of pellets at point blank range at unarmed individuals already in custody. Security forces also tolerated and sometimes collaborated directly with armed pro-government gangs that attacked protesters with impunity.