Inter-American Commission condemns increased repression after elections

The President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Roberta Clark, presented a report to the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States in Washington, on the human rights situation in that country.

The meeting was convened at the request of Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States and Uruguay.

In the report, Clarke denounced the repression that followed the presidential election — in which electoral authorities declared Nicolás Maduro the winner — “mirrors patterns already observed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the 2014 and 2017 protests.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also reported that it had monitored “arbitrary use of force” that resulted in the deaths of at least 23 people and the injury of dozens, as well as arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, with more than 1,600 people detained, including 100 minors.

After the report was presented, the countries that had called the meeting intervened, while the remaining countries – such as Brazil, Mexico or Colombia, which adopted a more lenient stance towards Caracas – decided not to speak.

In this open session, Paraguay’s ambassador to the OAS, Raúl Florentín, stated that “these serious complaints cannot be ignored by the international community.”

Costa Rica’s representative, Milagro Martinez, defended a “just and good-faith transition” in Venezuela led by all parties, while Peru’s ambassador, José Luis Sardón, denounced that “everything is fake” in the Caribbean country.

In turn, US Ambassador Frank Mora said that Maduro’s government and its representatives “have perpetuated a climate of fear” that has “exacerbated” after the July 28 elections.

“The United States expresses its solidarity with the people of Venezuela who have expressed their desire for change and a return to democratic norms,” ​​Mora said, denouncing the “frightening human rights panorama.”

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, renewed his request to the International Criminal Court to bring charges and arrest warrants against Venezuelan government officials.

Two weeks ago, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States unanimously approved a resolution calling on Venezuelan authorities to quickly release election records.

Venezuela has not been part of the OAS since its government decided to withdraw from the body in 2017, citing what it saw as interference by the Washington-based group in its internal affairs.