On Tuesday, May 14th Amnesty International requested the International Criminal Court to investigate Venezuela’s government for causing a series of “crimes against humanity”.
During a report presented in Mexico, Erika Guevara, a Director for the Americas at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International reported about several human rights violations caused by the use of force by Maduro’s Government.
Venezuela On the Verge of a Civil War
“In January 2019, multiple acts of violence were committed consistently in all states and with a high degree of coordination between the security forces at the national and state levels,” – Amnesty International
Venezuela is currently on the verge of a civil war as its political and economic issues deepen. The situation only worsened after Juan Guaido, President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, declared himself as the Interim President of The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. He has since been recognized as the official Venezuelan Head of State by 50 countries around the world, including the United States and most Latin American nations. Since January, protests against Maduro’s regime have been getting more violent.
Systematic Policy of Repression?
“As we have said for years, in Venezuela, there is a systematic policy of repression against the opposition,” – Erika Guevara Director of the Amnesty International Chapter in Americas
Guevara believes that Maduro and his band have slowly tried to silence, exile and imprison those who oppose his government. Reports show 47 people were killed during protests in January, and more than 900 dissidents, are imprisoned by the Venezuelan government.
“The cases are representative of a broader pattern of possible human rights violations that took place in January 2019,” – Amnesty International Reporter
An Amnesty International team composed of reporters and human rights activists was deployed in Venezuela. The team stayed there from January 31 until February 21. During this time the team was able to come up with a report documenting 6 extrajudicial executions, six arbitrary detentions, and three cases of excessive force made by Maduro’s government.
Venezuelan Government Trying to Cover up Its Wrong Doings?
“In all six cases, the crime scene was tampered with in order to cover up the facts, as were the bodies of the victims,” – Amnesty International
Amnesty International Team found out that the families of victims suffering from these abuses received little to no information at all from the ongoing investigations conducted by the government.
Amnesty International believes that “The authorities right up to the highest level, including Nicolas Maduro, have at the very least tolerated such attacks.”
Originally published on 71Republic