Venezuela: Treatment of citizens by the authorities based on whether or not they participate in anti-government protests, including whether some are more targeted than others and for what reasons; whether access to social security programs may be affected by political activities (2017–January 2021)
1. Anti-Government Protests
The report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [1] indicates that although "demonstrations occurred regularly across the country [from 2014 to 2020], they peaked at certain times, as did the measures put in place to counter them. The periods of particular intensity were February to April 2014, April to July 2017 and January to February 2019" (UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 1504). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a researcher from the Paris Centre for Political and Sociological Research (Centre de recherches sociologiques et politiques de Paris, CRESPPA), whose doctoral thesis is on the trade union movement in Venezuela, explained that [translation] "most [of the protests] are not nation-wide" (Researcher 9 Jan. 2021).
1.1 Protests in 2017
Sources report that protests [against the government of Nicolás Maduro (Time 24 Jan. 2019; Salojärvi 5 Dec. 2019, 4)] took place between April and July 2017 (Amnesty International 22 Feb. 2018, 471; Salojärvi 5 Dec. 2019, 4). According to the Fact-Finding Mission's report, "[t]housands of protests were held across the country" (UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 83). Sources indicate that the protesters were challenging two Venezuelan Supreme Court rulings that removed all power from the opposition-led National Assembly and limited parliamentary immunity (UN 15 Sept. 2020, paras. 81–82; HRW and Foro Penal 29 Nov. 2017, 14–15). According to a joint report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Foro Penal [2], the protesters also called on the authorities to "hold free and fair elections, release political prisoners, reestablish judicial independence, and address the humanitarian crisis that Venezuelans are facing" (HRW and Foro Penal 29 Nov. 2017, 15). Similarly, a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) states that the two Supreme Court decisions triggered protests in the capital, which subsequently spread across the country (UN Aug. 2017, 4). The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (Observatorio Venezolano de la Conflictividad Social, OVCS), a human rights NGO (OVCS n.d.), reports that the demonstrations took place throughout the country, in both rural and urban areas, and that people from all social classes participated (OVCS 3 Aug. 2017, 1, 3). However, according to a freelance journalist who covered Venezuela from 2010 to 2019, consulted by the EU's European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in a report on Venezuela, residents of poorer neighbourhoods participated in protests that called for improvements in quality of life without opposing President Maduro, but did not participate in political protests (EU Aug. 2020, 29).
1.2 Protests in 2018
According to the OVCS, in 2018 Venezuelan citizens participated in [translation] "at least" 12,715 demonstrations (OVCS 18 Jan. 2019). The same source reports that 89 percent of the protests were related to demands for social, economic, cultural and environmental rights, such as the quality of public services, respect for collective agreements, health, and access to food and education (OVCS 18 Jan. 2019). Amnesty International similarly reports that there were "more than 12,000" protests in 2018 demanding economic and social rights, motivated by a "serious deterioration" in living standards (Amnesty International 14 May 2019, 4).
1.3 Protests in 2019 and 2020
Sources report that protests in support of Juan Guaidó, [the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela], [or against the Maduro government (Netherlands June 2020, 54)], took place in 2019 (Euronews 24 Dec. 2019; HRW 14 Jan. 2020, 627; Freedom House 4 Mar. 2020), particularly in January and May (Freedom House 4 Mar. 2020). According to the OVCS 2019 annual report on social conflict, 16,739 protests took place in 2019 (OVCS 24 Jan. 2020, 2). Sources report that on 23 January 2019, Guaidó declared himself interim president (EU Aug. 2020, 29; The Guardian 23 Jan. 2019; HRW 14 Jan. 2020, 625) during a protest (The Guardian 23 Jan. 2019; HRW 14 Jan. 2020, 625). The independent journalist interviewed by EASO for its report on Venezuela explains that while in January 2019 "'hundreds'" of residents of poor neighbourhoods participated in the protests against the Maduro government, the alliance between the political opposition and the demands of the public did not last (EU Aug. 2020, 29). Sources report a decrease in participation in 2020 for protests organized by the opposition led by Guaidó (Reuters 11 Jan. 2020; AP 12 Mar. 2020).
A May 2020 article in the Financial Times reported that "these days," protests in Venezuela focus more on social issues and basic services, such as water, electricity, gas and gasoline, than on political issues (Financial Times 27 May 2020). Similarly, the OVCS reports that between January and June 2020, 79 percent of the protests focused on social, economic, cultural and environmental rights, while 21 percent were related to civil and political rights (OVCS 17 July 2020, 4). Sources report that at the end of September 2020, "[h]undreds" of protests (BBC 30 Sept. 2020) or "more than 100" protests (The Guardian 30 Sept. 2020) were held to protest various shortages, including water, electricity, and fuel (BBC 30 Sept. 2020; The Guardian 30 Sept. 2020).
British daily newspaper the Guardian notes that during these protests, participants did not explicitly demand a change of government, as was the case in previous demonstrations organized by the political opposition (The Guardian 30 Sept. 2020). Similarly, in a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a professor of Latin American studies at the State University of New York at Albany explained that many of the protesters are not necessarily seeking a change in government, nor would they "self-identify as being in the political opposition"; rather, they are protesting for a better quality of life (Professor 6 Jan. 2021).
2. Treatment by Government Authorities of Participants in Protests
Sources report that Venezuelan security forces have deliberately used violence [or "excessive force" (UN 5 July 2019, para. 39)] during protests to frighten citizens and discourage them from participating in other protests (UN 5 July 2019, para. 39; Professor 6 Jan. 2021). In an August 2017 report, OHCHR stated that the government's response to the actions of Venezuelan security forces during antigovernment demonstrations "points to the existence of a policy to repress political dissent and instil fear in the population to curb demonstrations" (UN Aug. 2017, 33). The OVCS similarly reports that the response of the Maduro government to the peaceful protests in the country aims to establish criminalization, judicialization, and [translation] "lethal repression" [of protesters] as a state policy (OVCS 24 Jan. 2020, 26).
Sources report that Venezuelan authorities' treatment of participants in anti-government protests can be arbitrary and that citizens with no clear role may be targeted by law enforcement (Researcher 9 Jan. 2021; Netherlands June 2020, 35). A confidential source consulted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a report on Venezuela indicated that sometimes people may be "'in the wrong place at the wrong time'," adding that Venezuelan authorities arrest or attack demonstrators or bystanders in order to " send a message" (Netherlands June 2020, 35). The researcher wrote that [translation] "the arbitrariness of the police and judiciary means that anyone may fall victim to it and anyone may escape" (Researcher 9 Jan. 2021). The report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission states that approximately 140 people were detained during a demonstration in Maracaibo on 20 July 2017, including a young man arrested while closing the family hardware store with his father in response to the protests and a 13-year-old girl taken by police as she left her home to pick up her 4-year-old sister (UN 15 Sept. 2020, paras. 1829, 1836).
2.1 Use of Force
Sources report the use of excessive force by Venezuelan security forces during protests in 2017 (UN Aug. 2017, 8) and 2019 (Amnesty International 20 Feb. 2019). In its report on the events of 2017, HRW notes that during protests against the government "[s]ecurity force personnel [shot] demonstrators at point-blank range with riot-control munitions, r[a]n over demonstrators with an armored vehicle, [and] brutally bea[t] people who offered no resistance" (HRW 18 Jan. 2018, 618). In its 2020 report, the same source notes that "[i]n 2019, security forces responded with violence to protests in support of Guaidó, firing pellets or live ammunition at close range against demonstrators" (HRW 14 Jan. 2020, 627).
In its report on the right to personal integrity for 2019, the NGO Venezuelan Education-Action Program on Human Rights (Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos, Provea) states that in 2017, 3,811 people were subjected to violations of their right to personal integrity in the form of injuries, while in 2019 the number was 1,033 (Provea 14 July 2020, 5). The same source adds that 95 percent of the victims were injured during protests (Provea July 2020, 5). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
In its report on 2019, Foro Penal indicates that at least 50 people were killed during anti-government protests between January and July 2019 (Foro Penal 28 Feb. 2020, 4). Similarly, the OVCS reports that a total of 67 people were killed in relation to the 2019 protests, including 61 who died during the protests (OVCS 24 Jan. 2020, 27). Sources report, for example, the case of a 19-year-old man who was shot and killed during a protest in which he was participating on 22 January 2019 (Amnesty International 14 May 2019, 28; The Guardian 6 Feb. 2019). In a report analyzing 15 detailed cases of human rights violations that occurred in the context of the January 2019 protests, Amnesty International states that the young man was shot in the chest when a member of the security forces fired "indiscriminately" on a protest (Amnesty International 14 May 2019, 4–5, 28).
2.2 Arrests and Detentions
According to Foro Penal, 5,517 people were arbitrarily arrested in 2017 (Foro Penal 16 Feb. 2018, 1). The same source reports that 2,219 people were arbitrarily arrested in 2019, the majority between January and May: 1,098 in January, 174 in February, 248 in March, 368 in April, and 212 in May (Foro Penal 28 Feb. 2020, 9). In a report on the repression in Venezuela in January 2019, the same organization explains that 85 percent of the arrests in January did not occur during the protests, as was previously the case, but later, as people were walking in the streets or returning to their homes after the protests, or when law enforcement agents [translation] "illegally" entered the homes of those arrested without a judicial warrant (Foro Penal 5 Feb. 2019, 3). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
Sources report that law enforcement officers have committed acts of "ill-treatment and torture" (UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 1584) or "serious abuses … that in some cases amount to torture" (HRW 14 Jan. 2020, 627) during the detention of individuals arrested in connection with anti-government protests (HRW 14 Jan. 2020, 627; UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 1584). The report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission states that those arrested were held in spaces that were not adequately equipped as detention centres, with no place to sleep , no toilets inadequate washing facilities, and insufficient food and water (UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 1584). The same source adds that among the cases of arbitrary detention examined, detainees were beaten, given electric shocks, exposed to irritating substances or tear gas in enclosed spaces, or subjected to "forms of sexual and gender-based violence" (UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 1585).
Amnesty International reports the cases of six people arbitrarily detained, including four minors arrested during a protest in the city of San Felipe on 23 January 2019 (Amnesty International 14 May 2019, 33, 35). According to the same source, three of the four teenagers participated in the demonstration, while the fourth was working near the site of demonstration at the time of his arrest (Amnesty International 14 May 2019, 35). Amnesty International reports that three of the teenagers were arrested without being shown a warrant and that the teenagers alleged that they were subjected to "ill-treatment and torture" while in detention (Amnesty International 14 May 2019, 35, 37). The same source mentions that during the first night of the teenagers' detention at the Yaracuy State General Police Headquarters, "the officers guarding them let off tear gas canisters inside the room in which the teenagers were held and then set fire to papers to spread the tear gas [a]round the room, increasing their exposure to [the] irritants" (Amnesty International 14 May 2019, 35, 36).
2.3 Access to Social Programs and Benefits
Sources indicate that Venezuelan authorities reportedly exclude Venezuelan citizens opposing the Maduro government from food aid distribution (Researcher 9 Jan. 2020; UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 145; Freedom House 4 Mar. 2020). The UN Fact-Finding Mission reports that the Venezuelan authorities rely on an identity card, the Homeland Card (Carnet de la Patria), to deliver humanitarian aid to citizens on the basis of "loyalty" to the regime (UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 145). Similarly, the Netherlands' information report on Venezuela states that "there are reports that citizens who sympathise with the opposition are denied social services" (Netherlands June 2020, 36). In this context, the Homeland Card is regarded "by many" as a means of government control (Netherlands June 2020, 36)., Reuters similarly reports that human rights groups believe that the Maduro government uses the Homeland Card to monitor the populace and "allocate scarce resources to his loyalists" (Reuters 14 Nov. 2018). The same source notes that the database associated with the Homeland Card system includes data on the cardholder's date of birth, family, employment and income, property ownership, medical history, government assistance received, social media presence, political party membership, and electoral participation (Reuters 14 Nov. 2018). For additional information on the Homeland Card, see Response to Information Request VEN106113 of May 2018.
Other sources reported, however, that the Local Committees for Supply and Production (Comités Locales de Abastecimiento y Producción, CLAP) distribute food aid in the form of food parcels to both government supporters and opponents (Researcher 9 Jan. 2021; Professor 6 Jan. 2021). The researcher noted that parcel delivery may be suspended or the parcel may not include all products if the recipient has, for example, participated in a protest (Researcher 9 Jan. 2021). He provided the example of a Venezuelan woman who had participated in protests against power outages who received a special food aid parcel containing fewer products than those received by her neighbours (Researcher 9 Jan. 2021)., The Professor, on the other hand, stated he found no indication that the government had systematically limited the access of participants in anti-government protests to social programs (Professor 6 Jan. 2021). Similarly, the researcher noted that the suspension of access to social programs is [translation] "an arbitrary procedure that is not subject to any identifiable formal decision" (Researcher 9 Jan. 2021).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Notes
[1] The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was established through the UN Human Rights Council resolution 42/25 of 27 September 2019 in order "'to investigate extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment since 2014'" (UN 15 Sept. 2020, para. 1).
[2] Foro Penal is a Venezuelan human rights NGO whose particular focus is assisting victims of arbitrary arrest and victims of violence during peaceful protests (Foro Penal n.d.).
References
Amnesty International. 14 May 2019. Hunger for Justice: Crimes Against Humanity in Venezuela. (AMR 53/0222/2019) [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Amnesty International. 20 February 2019. "Venezuela. La pénurie alimentaire, le châtiment et la peur constituent la formule de la répression exercée par les autorités sous le régime de Nicolás Maduro." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Amnesty International. 22 February 2018. "Venezuela." Rapport 2017/18 : la situation des droits humains dans le monde. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Associated Press (AP). 12 March 2020. Jorge Rueda and Scott Smith. "Opposition's Street Protests Losing Appeal in Venezuela." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 30 September 2020. "Venezuela Crisis: Anger over Shortages Triggers Protests." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Euronews. 24 December 2019. Maria Piñero and Mariana Atencio. "From Hong Kong to Venezuela, Protesters Demanded Change in 2019." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
European Union (EU). August 2020. European Asylum Support Office (EASO). Venezuela Country Focus: Country of Origin Information Report. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Financial Times. 27 May 2020. Gideon Long. "Poor Venezuelans Protest as Shortages Stoke Anger at Maduro." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Foro Penal. 28 February 2020. Political Repression in Venezuela: Annual Report 2019. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Foro Penal. 5 February 2019. Reporte sobre la represión en Venezuela. Enero de 2019. [Accessed 1 Feb. 2021]
Foro Penal. 16 February 2018. Reporte sobre la represión en Venezuela 2017. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Foro Penal. N.d. "What Is Foro Penal?." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Freedom House. 4 March 2020. "Venezuela." Freedom in the World 2020. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
The Guardian. 30 September 2020. Joe Parkin Daniels and Clavel Rangel. "Venezuela Shortages Prompt Wave of Protests Across Country." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
The Guardian. 6 February 2019. Tom Phillipps and Patricia Torres. "'They Are Murderers': Special Forces Unit Strikes Fear in Venezuelans." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
The Guardian. 23 January 2019. Joe Parkin Daniels and Mariana Zúñiga. "Venezuela: Who Is Juan Guaidó, the Man Who Declared Himself President?" [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 14 January 2020. "Venezuela." World Report 2020: Events of 2019. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 18 January 2018. "Venezuela." World Report 2018: Events of 2017. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Foro Penal. 29 November 2017. "Crackdown on Dissent: Brutality, Torture, and Political Persecution in Venezuela." [Accessed 12 Jan. 2021]
Netherlands. June 2020. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. General Country of Origin Information Report: Venezuela 2020. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS). 17 July 2020. Conflictividad social – Venezuela primer semestre 2020. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS). 24 January 2020. Conflictividad social – Venezuela 2019. Informe anual. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS). 18 January 2019. Conflictividad social en Venezuela 2018. [Accessed 28 Jan. 2021]
Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS). 3 August 2017. 6.729 manifestaciones en 4 meses en todo el país. [Accessed 25 Jan. 2021]
Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS). N.d. "Nosotros." [Accessed 28 Jan. 2021]
Professor of Latin American studies, State University of New York at Albany. 6 January 2021. Telephone interview with the Research Directorate.
Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos (Provea). 14 July 2020. Derecho a la integridad personal. Informe 2019. Situación de los derechos humanos en Venezuela. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Researcher, Centre de recherches sociologiques et politiques de Paris (CRESPPA). 9 January 2021. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Reuters. 11 January 2020. Brian Ellsworth and Vivian Sequera. "Venezuela's Guaido Calls for More Protests Against Maduro." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Reuters. 14 November 2018. Angus Berwick. "Special Report: How ZTE Helps Venezuela Create China-Style Social Control." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Salojärvi, Virpi. 5 December 2019. "Faceless Government: Civic Action in Media Photographs During the Venezuelan Anti-Governmental Protests of 2017." Visual Communication. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Time. 24 January 2019. Ciara Nugent. "See Venezuelans Taking to the Streets as Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó Declares Himself Interim President." [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
United Nations (UN). 15 September 2020. Human Rights Council. "Detailed Findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." (A/HRC/45/CRP.11) [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
United Nations (UN). 5 July 2019. Human Rights Council. "Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." (A/HRC/41/18) [Accessed 28 Jan. 2021]
United Nations (UN). August 2017. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Human Rights Violations and Abuses in the Context of Protests in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela from 1 April to 31 July 2017. [Accessed 18 Jan. 2021]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral Sources: Provea; Researcher in Political Science studying social movements in Venezuela.
Internet websites, including: Council on Foreign Relations; El Universal; Fédération internationale des droits humains; Infobae; International Crisis Group; Organization of American States; Transparencia Venezuela; Washington Office for Latin America; The Washington Post.