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For more than two decades, the security apparatus of Cuba has played a crucial role in the development and implementation of the repressive model of the Venezuelan regime.
Since the arrival of Hugo Chávez in power in 1999, and with greater intensity under Nicolás Maduro, dozens of reports from international organizations and human rights NGOs have documented the presence of Cuban advisors in intelligence, counterintelligence, military training, and social control.
1. The international documentary database
UN and Human Rights Council
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela from the UN, in its report from September 2020 and subsequent updates, highlighted the existence of a “parallel intelligence structure” in which Cuban officials and advisors played a technical and operational role within the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) and SEBIN.
The document, presented to the Human Rights Council, describes “repressive knowledge transfer” and “presence of foreign instructors” —without directly naming Cuba, but later identified in complementary analyses by the High Commissioner and in reports from media and NGOs.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in its 2019 report, also noted that "foreign advice" was reinforcing the mechanisms of internal control and surveillance within the Venezuelan security forces, particularly in monitoring military and civilian dissent.
OAS and IACHR
The Organization of American States (OAS), under the leadership of Luis Almagro, has been one of the most explicit institutions regarding Cuban participation.
The Report on Crimes Against Humanity in Venezuela (OAS, 2018) documented the existence of “a network of Cuban advising and supervision over Venezuelan intelligence agencies, particularly SEBIN and DGCIM.”
The text quotes testimonies from former Venezuelan military personnel and former Cuban advisors that describe a system where “no Venezuelan general is promoted without the approval of the Cuban G2,” confirming the structural interference of the Havana regime in the security command hierarchy of Caracas.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also commented on this point in its reports from 2020 and 2022, highlighting “the importation of repressive state security practices that replicate the Cuban model,” particularly in terms of mass surveillance, torture-interrogations, and the repression of protests.
European Union
The European Parliament, in its resolutions of 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2023, explicitly condemned the involvement of Cuban advisors and described Havana's influence on the Venezuelan intelligence apparatus as “a form of political colonialism that undermines sovereignty and exacerbates repression.”
The European External Action Service (EEAS) acknowledged in internal reports the transfer of “social control methods” applied by the Cuban regime, including the use of Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP) for surveillance and political punishment.
2. International NGOs and human rights
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented since 2017 the methods of torture, surveillance, and arbitrary detention used by SEBIN and DGCIM, highlighting Cuban influence in their structure.
In its report "Punished for Protesting" (2019), HRW cited testimonies from former Venezuelan officials describing how "Cuban military personnel participated in interrogation and training sessions".
Amnesty International, in its 2020 report "Silencing by Force," denounced that the political control techniques used by Maduro's regime "follow patterns of repression typical of foreign intelligence services experienced in totalitarian social control," clearly referring to Cuba.
Freedom House, in its report Freedom in the World 2022, classified both Venezuela and Cuba as "not free" and noted the "repressive interdependence" between both regimes, based on the exchange of security and intelligence advice.
The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) has published several reports detailing the exportation of the Cuban repressive model to Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, with direct involvement from officials of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and the G2.
3. Think tanks and specialized organizations
The CASLA Institute, led by Tamara Suju, has been instrumental in collecting testimonies from victims and former officials regarding Cuban involvement.
In its 2021 Report to the International Criminal Court, CASLA presented dozens of sworn testimonies that link Cuban officials to torture and surveillance operations in the DGCIM and SEBIN.
The document includes names, ranks, and locations of Cuban advisors, many of whom are linked to the military intelligence of Havana.
InSight Crime has documented the security and intelligence cooperation between Cuba and Venezuela, emphasizing how Havana exported its system of "civil control through hunger and surveillance."
The reports from 2019 and 2022 describe the presence of Cuban officials in the command centers of the Venezuelan Ministry of Interior and in the military counterintelligence units.
C4ADS, based in Washington, has also studied the financial networks of the Caracas-Havana alliance, revealing the transfer of resources through GAESA and PDVSA that fund the exchange of security personnel and technical advisory.
On its part, the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FDHC), in its 2020 report, referred to this framework as “the Cuban repressive laboratory exported to the hemisphere.”
4. Testimonies and modus operandi
Several former Venezuelan and Cuban officials have confirmed that the Havana regime exerts direct control over Venezuelan intelligence agencies.
The Venezuelan general Clíver Alcalá Cordones, in interviews following his departure from the country, stated that “the Cubans are the eyes and ears of power within the army.”
Ex-officers of the SEBIN exiled in Miami and Bogotá have described how the Cubans supervised interrogations and taught methods of psychological torture and digital surveillance.
Reports agree that Cuban advisors control communications, streamline leadership, and design strategies for propaganda and disinformation.
Their role goes beyond physical repression: it includes ideological training, information censorship, and advisory support in regional counterintelligence operations.
5. Conclusions
The findings converge on a unanimous conclusion: the Cuban presence in Venezuelan repression is extensively documented and recognized by multiple international organizations.
The Caracas-Havana alliance is not limited to political or economic exchange; instead, it has manifested in the creation of a transnational system of political and social control, in which Cuba exports its authoritarian model as a survival tool for chavismo.
Documentation from the UN, OAS, EU, and NGOs shows that the crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela were planned and executed with Cuban assistance, which could constitute a potential line of future international responsibility.
The Cuban regime, through its intelligence apparatus, has maintained a direct influence for years in the persecution of dissidents, media censorship, and the repression of protests, consolidating an authoritarian regional bloc that is now under increasing international pressure following the fall of Nicolás Maduro.
Consulted sources
This research is based exclusively on official reports from international organizations, parliamentary resolutions, and reports from recognized NGOs and human rights centers. All cited sources are public and verifiable as of the publication date.
- UN – Independent International Mission of Fact-Finding on Venezuela (2020). 2020 Report (official site)
- UN – Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (2022). 2022 Report (official site)
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (2019). Report on Venezuela 2019
- Organization of American States (OAS) (2020). Official Press Release OAS C-122/20
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) (2020). Chapter IV.B – Venezuela (Annual Report 2020, PDF)
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) (2022). Official Communiqués 2022
- European Parliament (2018). Resolution on the situation in Venezuela (2018)
- European Parliament (2021). Resolution on Venezuela (2021)
- European Parliament (2023). Condemnation of disqualifications in Venezuela (2023)
- European External Action Service (EEAS) (2022). Annual Report 2022 on Human Rights and Democracy (PDF)
- Human Rights Watch (2025). Punished for Seeking Change (2025)
- Amnesty International (2017). Silenced by force: Arbitrary detentions and torture (2017)
- Freedom House (2022). Freedom in the World 2022: Venezuela
- CASLA Institute (2021). CASLA Report 2021 (PDF on Scribd)
- Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FDHC) (2020). FDHC Reports and Publications
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