Forced disappearance, arbitrary detentions and torture are some of the human rights violations that Chavismo continued to carry out throughout 2025, according to Amnesty International's annual report. The parameters have been maintained, despite the untimely departure of Nicolás Maduro from power, the entity's deputy regional director, Valentina Ballesta, told France 24: "The device is there, and the moment the Government needs it, it will probably use it." The complaint coincides with another report from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which concluded that in the previous year a "dictatorial regime" was consolidated in the Latin American country.

First modification: 04/23/2026 - 20:05 Last modification: 04/23/2026 - 21:19

In Venezuela, reports of crimes against humanity did not stop during 2025, reported Amnesty International (AI). "Hundreds of people suffered forced disappearance or arbitrary detention, as well as torture and other human rights violations for exercising some form of opposition or criticism of the government," the entity said in its 2025 annual report, presented this week in Bogotá.

AI blamed "security and intelligence bodies" for the perpetuation of the oppressive regime, as well as "groups of armed civilians to repress, silence and punish dissent." Furthermore, he denounced "the instrumentalization of the Public Ministry as an organ of political persecution and of the judiciary as an executing arm."

The organization condemned that the imprisoned opponents had to face criminal proceedings "without judicial guarantees, denying them a defense of their own choice, access to information about the charges brought against them or appearance before an independent court."

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The text adds that "at the end of the year (2025), hundreds of people were detained incommunicado."

The NGO focused on "the practically total impunity for human rights violations" in the country, taking as a reference the investigation of the International Criminal Court known as Venezuela I, which in the opinion of the entity has barely made any progress.

Although the study covers all of 2025, when Nicolás Maduro was still governing, AI's deputy regional director for the Americas, Valentina Ballesta, told AFP during the presentation of the report that "the repressive apparatus is still fully in force."

AI's complaints correspond with the accusations of other international organizations against the Chavista Executive. The most recent of them arrived this Thursday, April 23, from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which concluded in a report that 2025 was the year in which a "dictatorial regime" was consolidated in Venezuela.

Read also: A new Venezuela?: what Delcy Rodríguez's movements reveal in power chess

"There is greater shyness, but the device is still there"

"Our conclusion is that the repressive apparatus in Venezuela is still fully in force, which means that no genuine, structural measures have been taken to promote an environment in which it is safe to express dissident opinions," Valentina Ballesta concluded on the set of France 24.

The deputy regional director of Amnesty International highlighted that, although "there is greater timidity in the way in which repression is carried out", the institutions that allow the criminalization of the opposition remain unchanged. "The device is there, and the moment the Government needs it, it will probably use it, that is our fear," he said.

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The report prepared by Amnesty International once again focuses the debate on political prisoners under Chavismo, two months after the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling party, approved an amnesty law for those detained for political reasons.

This provision was one of the first maneuvers promoted by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the reins of the Government after the surprise arrest of the Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro, captured in Caracas by US troops in the early hours of January 3.

After the promulgation of the amnesty, more than 760 political prisoners have been released, although only 186 of them have regained their freedom through this law, according to data from the leading NGO, Foro Penal. However, the entity estimates that there are still 473 political prisoners in Venezuelan prisons—among them 87 soldiers, 46 women and a teenager.

"The way in which the amnesty is being applied shows us that the same discretion with which it was repressed is still in force"

The number of releases is even higher for the leader of the special commission to monitor the Amnesty Law, Chavista Jorge Arreaza, who on Wednesday reported on social networks 314 releases thanks to that legislation. In addition, he assured that 8,302 people with precautionary measures have regained their full freedom.

Aside from the disparity in figures between the ruling party and the opposition, Valentina Ballesta, from Amnesty International, stressed that "the way in which the amnesty is being applied shows us that the same discretion with which it was repressed is still in force."

The deputy regional director of the NGO highlighted the need for "deep reforms and justice initiatives" before talking about a credible transition in Venezuela. "None of that has happened," he concluded.

Read alsoOrganization Foro Penal assures that there are 477 detainees in Venezuela for political reasons

Information, transparency and inclusion: other stagnant rights

Amnesty International's annual report has pointed out other rights threatened by action or omission by the Government of Venezuela. In that sense, the restriction on the work of journalists also worries the entity, which condemned the detention of 23 communicators in 2025, "some of whom had also initially been subject to forced disappearance."

The siege on the media moved to the digital spectrum with the blocking of several independent sources of information.

At the same time, the study concludes that "no progress was recorded in terms of sexual and reproductive rights, specifically those related to access to abortion and family planning methods. There was also a "lack of progress" in the rights of the LGBTIQ+ population, accompanied by "sexist rhetoric" by State institutions.

As if that were not enough, Amnesty International warned about the "lack of guarantee and respect" for the rights of indigenous populations, citing the example of the Yekuana people, who suffer violence due to illegal extractive activity settled in their territories in the Amazon.

In this sense, the NGO stressed that "the effects of illegal mining and "environmental devastation" "continue to raise concern", as well as the lack of "reliable data" on this sector.

Read alsoThree months without Maduro: what has changed in Venezuela?

With EFE, AFP and local media

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