Recent reports on Venezuela reveal a deepening alarm over institutional deterioration and the systematic practice of political persecution, which has led the country to occupy last place globally in the Rule of Law Index, published annually by the World Justice Project (WJP), out of 143 countries and jurisdictions analyzed. Venezuela reaffirms its absolute unwillingness to deliver justice and hold power to account.
The country’s recurrence in last place in the Rule of Law Index is no coincidence; it is the inevitable result of a complex humanitarian emergency where the rule of law has been dismantled and important legal mechanisms are increasingly lacking. This report evaluates factors such as limits on government power, the absence of corruption, respect for fundamental rights, and the quality of criminal justice. Occupying last place indicates that, according to the measurement, there are critical and structural failures in each of these areas.
The political and legal crisis underlying this dishonorable last-place ranking in the world stems, as the IACHR has repeatedly stressed, from the National Executive’s total control over all branches of government, especially its broad capacity to use the Supreme Court for partisan political punishments. The instrumentalization of the justice system becomes the norm, rendering the principle of separation of powers and its most important normative pillar, judicial independence, ineffective. The transformation of the Venezuelan autocratic regime into a totalitarian system is progressing through the increasingly sophisticated mechanisms of surveillance and repression directed at local dissent.
Political persecution has escalated to critical levels with the recent actions of the de facto government, which seeks to strip opposition members of their nationality and institutionalize citizen surveillance. First, Nicolás Maduro’s request to the Supreme Court to deprive Leopoldo López and anyone else labeled a “traitor” or who supports a foreign military intervention of their nationality represents an unprecedentedly serious move. Similarly, pro-government groups filed a complaint before the Public Prosecutor’s Office against Venezuelan journalists and opinion leaders residing abroad. Although Article 35 of the Constitution states that no Venezuelan by birth can be stripped of their nationality, the attempt to use the justice system for such purposes reaffirms its subservient nature, as well as Maduro’s unwillingness to seek a negotiated solution to the political crisis.
Secondly, and concurrently, Maduro’s order to create an app allowing Venezuelans to report those they consider dissidents, involving the military in its use, institutionalizes the figure of the “traitor” and transforms denunciation into a state policy. This initiative creates an atmosphere of widespread suspicion and fear, undermining social trust and discouraging any form of criticism from ordinary citizens. This digital citizen surveillance mechanism, backed by the military, is reminiscent of the practices of other totalitarian states and seeks to externalize political control by actively involving citizens in the repression of the opposition. Unfortunately, this practice is not new: it began with government structures reporting neighbors, including minors, through the “VenApp” application, following the fraudulent elections of July 28, 2014, in response to social media or personal comments against the de facto government. Some received sentences of up to 10 years in prison. And, even today, it continues to happen, targeting protesters or any “dissident.”
The desire to expand political repression is unfolding amidst growing tension with the United States, which maintains a naval presence near Venezuelan waters, ostensibly to combat drug trafficking. Maduro is taking advantage of the situation to punish dissent (in this case, for alleged “calls for invasion”), while sending a deterrent message to anyone about the consequences of challenging the government, which would include the loss of nationality and, therefore, all political and civil rights, in the best Nicaraguan style, giving more power to the Venezuelan dictatorship.
This stage of the political conflict seems to pave the way for new forms of human rights violations and crimes against humanity, which has been Maduro’s modus operandi since he seized power as de facto ruler on July 28, 2024, when he usurped the presidency from Edmundo González Urrutia. It is worth recalling that after more than 2,000 people have been detained and/or disappeared, including hundreds who have been tortured, and at least 25 have died, the government continues to create and use political prisoners for blackmail, including foreigners as “bargaining chips,” accused of “terrorism,” “treason,” or any other aberrant legal charge. In the case of Venezuelans, this time the threat includes stripping them of their nationality and thus increasing their vulnerability. The criminalization of dissent is becoming the regime’s primary mechanism of power and control.
Given the systematic violation of human rights and the escalating conflict in Venezuela, it is imperative that the international community intensify its monitoring over the country and maintain adequate operational levels of accountability mechanisms, such as the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission. Likewise, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court must be urged to expedite its investigation, open a case, and adopt the corresponding legal measures to deter the continuation of these crimes and guarantee justice for the victims. The coordination of democratic states, through diplomatic pressure and universal and international justice mechanisms, along with rigorous documentation of the facts and coordinated public denunciation, are crucial measures to compel Maduro to negotiate and promote the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in the country.