The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (FFMV) warned on Wednesday that the socialist Maduro regime is enacting a “more violent” repression against dissidents ahead of the upcoming July 28 sham presidential election.
The Fact-Finding mission, established in 2019 to investigate human rights violations by the ruling socialists, issued the warning as part of an update presented by the mission’s leader, Marta Valiñas, at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
In her presentation, Valiñas explained how the Maduro regime is reactivating its most violent repressive measures to silence dissidents “at any cost,” including committing crimes to generate a climate of fear and intimidation, thus restricting the free exercise of fundamental rights.
“Numerous events recorded during the period covered by this update confirm that we are witnessing a reactivation of the most violent form of repression by the authorities,” Valiñas said. “In this regard, the Mission observes a repetition of the same patterns of human rights violations against real or perceived opponents of the Government, including human rights defenders who dare to criticize, denounce, or protest against government decisions or policies.”
Valiñas presented an account of the recent events that have occurred in Venezuela ahead of the upcoming July 28 sham presidential election that started in October 2023, when the Maduro regime and members of the Venezuelan “opposition” signed an agreement in Barbados toward celebrating a “free and fair” presidential election in 2023.
The agreement, backed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saw the socialists receive a generous oil and gas sanctions relief package from President Joe Biden in exchange for a series of vague promises to eventually hold a presidential election. Socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro did not fulfill any of the terms of the agreement, opting to begin preparations for the upcoming July 28 sham election, which he declared to be a separate exercise from what his regime promised in Barbados.
Maduro began to dramatically escalate repression days after the agreement was signed and the sanctions lifted, setting the stage for a fraudulent election to secure a new six-year term for himself.
Valiñas remarked that, days after the agreement was signed, María Corina Machado, who leads Venezuela’s only mainstream center-right party Vente Venezuela, became the establishment opposition’s candidate after winning in October’s self-organized opposition primary election. The Maduro regime had the socialist-controlled courts invalidate the primary, claiming it was a fraudulent event.
Although the October agreement stipulated terms to lift bans imposed on opposition candidates, including Machado, the Maduro regime upheld Machado’s ban, effectively preventing her from running. Valiñas also stressed how the Maduro regime has arrested several of Machado’s campaign staff members.
On Wednesday, the same day the Independent Fact-Finding Mission presented its report, the Maduro regime issued warrants against seven members of Machado’s campaign and arrested two more, accusing them of being part of a plot to “generate violence” in Venezuela ahead of the July sham election.
Footage published on social media on Wednesday show members of the Maduro regime’s SEBIN intelligence service forcing taking Dignora Hernández, one of Machado’s senior campaign members, into a vehicle.
Esto es un horror.
🚨 | El SEBIN se llevó secuestrada a la exdiputada y secretaria política nacional de Vente, Dignora Hernández, y al coordinador nacional Vente, Henry Alviarez. pic.twitter.com/nmEmmapBDe
— Orlando Avendaño (@OrlvndoA) March 20, 2024
“These actions highlight the serious difficulties in ensuring that the upcoming presidential elections are conducted in accordance with the right to participate in public affairs, as affirmed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” Valiñas said.
The head of the fact-finding mission stressed that the Maduro regime invokes “real or fictitious ‘conspiracies’ to intimidate, arrest and prosecute opponents or critics to the Government,” citing the “Bolivarian Fury” crackdown wave launched by Maduro against dissidents in January. The Maduro regime claims that those arrested then were part of a plot to “assassinate” dictator Maduro and other members of his regime.
The dubious “plot” to assassinate Maduro, according to socialist regime authorities, is allegedly called “Operation White Bracelet.” Valiñas mentioned to the Human Rights Council that several Venezuelan citizens have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the plot, including activist Rocío San Miguel in February. The U.N. Human Rights Office has publicly expressed its concerns over San Miguel’s arrest. In response, the Maduro regime banished the office’s staff members who were stationed in Caracas.
“Together with Rocío San Miguel, the Mission has documented the cases of 18 other women who remain detained on charges of being involved in or associated with ‘conspiracies’ to overthrow the Government in recent years,” Valiñas said. “Selective detention of opposition individuals linked by the authorities to the so-called Operation White Bracelet continues to date.”
Valiñas stated that the Mission found “indications that State security forces continue committing serious violations of the human rights” that remain unpunished, noting that the Public Prosecutor’s Office “continues to operate as part of the Government’s repressive machinery to give an appearance of legality to the persecution of critical voices.”
“Furthermore, the Mission is investigating the role of the Bolivarian National Guard in serious human rights violations and international crimes over the past ten years, with a view to giving an account of the chain of command and identify individual responsibilities,” she said.
Valiñas concluded by explaining that the Independent Fact-Finding Mission will continue its investigations and present a new report in September.
The Maduro regime immediately rejected Wednesday’s report, denouncing its contents as “unfounded accusations and lies by the false and shameful International Fact-Finding Mission.”
In a previous September 2022 report, the Independent Fact-Finding Mission revealed that the Maduro regime uses its security apparatus to carry out crimes against humanity through the use of extreme acts of torture, sexual violence, and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatments.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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