Repression in Venezuela ramp up as 2024 July election approaches, HRW says

SEATTLE - As Venezuela's presidential election gets closer, political repression by the Maduro government has ramped up, according to Humans Rights Watch.

In a recent oral statement before the UN, members of the organizations expressed concern over the new wave of apprehensions of opposition members. The statement said that there are around 280 political prisoners behind bars at the moment, including human rights activists and opposition members.

"We are deeply alarmed by the arrest of opposition members, arbitrary disqualifications of opposition candidates, and efforts to further restrict civic space, as the authorities ramp up repression ahead of the elections in July," read a passage of the statement.

HRW members added that the recent expulsion of the UN's office in the country is another example of the Venezuelan government's "intolerance of any critical voices and disdain for the international human rights system."

According to organizations like Foro Penal and Justica, Encuentro y Perdón, the estimated number of people imprisoned for political reasons is more than 300. Between 2014 and 2023, Foro Penal said, there have been around 15,700 politically motivated arbitrary arrests in Venezuela.

With the presidential election scheduled for July 28, incumbent Nicolás Maduro is facing a real threat to Chavismo's decades-long grip on power from former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, backed by practically the entire opposition.

Maduro has been the president of Venezuela since 2013 after Hugo Chávez's death. He was re-elected in 2018 in an election that wasn't considered legitimate by a large portion of the international community, as his government banned the country's most popular opposition parties and politicians from participating.

Current polls show González with a wide lead, but officials and activists, both foreign and domestic, have been warning that the Maduro government will not shy away from manipulating the polling stations and resort to threats and violence to stay in power.

A recent report by sociologist Héctor Briceño and reported by Infobae says that 86% of all such centers (that is, over 12,000 of them), which are set to serve 18 million voters, are at risk."

"The risks come from different sources, but all seek to place obstacles, threat or challenge voters in some sort of way," Briceño told the outlet. He added that most of the at-risk centers are located at the Capital district, Bolívar and Carabobo, but those closer to the border are more fragile to blatant fraud.

Different articles and analyses have pondered about the different ways in which President Nicolás Maduro could seek to remain in power as he faces his most challenging election since taking office over a decade ago.

A recent piece by The New York Times gathered opinions from insiders who have suggested he may be considering various tactics asides from the aforementioned one, including disqualifying González or the parties he represents or even canceling or postponing the election by citing a fabricated crisis, such as a border dispute with Guyana.

Other efforts to undermine the upcoming vote are already evident. Venezuelans living abroad, who are likely to vote against Maduro, face significant obstacles in registering to vote.

Maduro has publicly dismissed the possibility of losing, accusing his opponents of plotting a coup and asserting his confidence in a decisive victory.