The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, warned this Monday from Bogotá that the mechanisms of repression in Venezuela "have not changed" despite the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January, according to statements collected by EFE.
Callamard acknowledged that in the past six months there have been some "advances" in human rights, including releases from prison, but she warned about the risk of these changes being "superficial" and potentially reversible quickly.
"Our analysis is that there have been some advances: some people who were detained have been released. But our main concern is that the mechanisms of repression have not changed: the same people, the same laws, the same institutions, the same police—nothing has changed," denounced the leader of the NGO.
For Callamard, the government of acting president Delcy Rodríguez has not taken sufficient steps to dismantle a "deeply entrenched" repressive structure.
"We celebrate the fact that people have been freed. It is a significant change, especially for them and their families. We celebrate that some individuals are returning to Venezuela, but we are concerned that it may be something very superficial that can be reversed very quickly," he expressed.
After Maduro's capture, Rodríguez's government promoted an amnesty law that the ruling party claimed would benefit over 8,000 people. However, independent organizations such as Foro Penal confirmed only 768 actual releases since January, as most of the supposed beneficiaries were already free under precautionary measures and were not incarcerated.
The warnings from Amnesty International come days after the UN Mission concluded that the repressive apparatus in Venezuela remains intact, with 64 new cases of torture documented since January, at least 19 previously identified officials still holding key positions, and between 379 and 500 people still detained for political reasons.
Callamard summarized the situation with a striking image: "We are very concerned that the tip of the iceberg may be more visible, but there is a very deep iceberg of repression that isn't changing."
Regarding the judicial process that Maduro is facing in the United States—where he is accused of narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of destructive weapons—the Secretary General of AI was equally critical.
“At this moment, he is facing judges in the United States under conditions that are akin to kidnapping. That is not justice for the people of Venezuela,” he noted.
For Amnesty International, true justice requires that Maduro be held accountable in Venezuela for the crimes against humanity committed against political prisoners and against his own people, something that Callamard herself acknowledged does not seem likely to happen anytime soon.
“Justice for the people consists of him being held accountable for the crimes he committed against the people of Venezuela. There are also no indications that this will happen,” he warned.
Maduro declared himself not guilty before the federal court of the Southern District of New York, and his trial is scheduled for 2027, while Delcy Rodríguez consolidates her control of the Venezuelan government without the repressive structures inherited from Chavismo being dismantled.
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