HRC Investigative Bodies press conference: Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Welcome to this press conference with the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela. As you know, the Fact-Finding Mission was established in 2019 by the Human Rights Council with a mandate to investigate alleged violations of human rights committed in Venezuela since 2014. The mission published its latest report to the Council on Wednesday. along with two research papers, one released Wednesday, the other which published today. If you do not have that, please contact me directly. I will share it with you. It's on the website. With us today to answer your questions are to my in the middle of the panel is the chair of the mission, Ms. Sophia Machar. To my right, Ms. Maria Cantero, and on the far side is Mr. Alex Neve. Now the experts will read opening statements in English and Spanish, and then we'll open the floor to your questions. Thank you.

La misión presenta sus hallazgos sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Venezuela entre el 1 de septiembre del 2025 y el 31 de agosto del 2026. Presentamos 2 investigaciones complementarias. Una examina la evolución de las principales violaciones y la continuidad del aparato represivo del Estado. The other analyzes the role of the armed civil groups, known as collectives, and their ties with the authorities. This period was marked by an extraordinary event, the military intervention of the United States on January 3, which the mission has qualified as contrary to international law. condujo a la aprehensión de Nicolás Maduro y abrió una nueva etapa política. Desde entonces, se han producido excarcelaciones, han disminuido nuevas detenciones políticas de larga duración y se observa una mayor actividad pública y política. Reconocemos que estos cambios tienen consecuencias reales For many people and families in Venezuela, our central question has been whether these changes have been accompanied by a transformation of the structures that made repression possible for years. Until now, the mission has not found sufficient evidence of a genuine and sustainable Los principales organismos de seguridad e inteligencia investigados por la misión, entre ellos el Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional, la Dirección General Contrainteligencia Militar, el Consejo de Investigación Científica de Penales, de Investigación Científica Penales y Criminalística, siguen operando sin reformas sustantivas de sus estructuras y prácticas. Continúan vigente instrumentos jurídicos utilizados para restringir la actividad de la sociedad civil y silenciar la disidencia. Tampoco se han resuelto las preocupaciones de larga data sobre la independencia judicial. La continuidad se observa también en las personas que ocupan puestos de responsabilidad. Nuestra investigación identificó al menos 12 personas que siguen desempeñando cargos públicos y que habían sido señaladas en informes anteriores por su participación en violaciones a los derechos humanos o crímenes de lesa humanidad. Su situación exige investigaciones independientes y decisiones fundadas en las garantías del debido proceso. No puede haber una mejor. Mejora duradera mientras las instituciones permanezcan sin reforma y los hechos documentados sigan sin una respuesta efectiva de la justicia. La apertura política, por otra parte, sigue siendo limitada. Han continuado la vigilancia, el hostigamiento y los obstáculos al ejercicio libre del periodismo y de la participación cívica. Como expondrán mis colegas, también se han seguido cometiendo violaciones graves. La disminución de algunos abusos debe reconocerse. No permite concluir, sin embargo, que el aparato que los hizo posibles haya desaparecido. Venezuela tiene hoy una oportunidad de avanzar hacia un cambio real. Para aprovecharla, se necesita una hoja de ruta pública elaborada con la participación de las víctimas y la sociedad civil, con plazos e indicadores que permitan verificar las excarcelaciones, las reformas institucionales, la protección de las libertades y los avances en justicia. La comunidad internacional debe situar estos. objectives in the center of its relationship with the Venezuelan authorities. Alex Neef will now present our findings on the violations documented during this period. Alex.

Thank you very much, Sophia, and good afternoon, everyone. The 12 months of this reporting period have been marked by two very different political phases in Venezuela. The aftermath of the U.S. military invasion on January 3, which the mission has unequivocally stated to have been a violation of international law, and the apprehension of former President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces at that time, has provoked considerable political change in Venezuela, change which clearly has had substantial impact and consequences regarding the key international human rights concerns that are at the heart of the mission's mandate. change that has not, as Sophia has noted, yet led to concrete, meaningful indications that the country's longstanding human rights crisis has come to an end. Throughout that 12-month period, we have continued our extensive investigations to document and assess gross violations of international human rights in the country, with a particular focus on arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, arbitrary deprivation of life, torture and other ill treatment, conditions of detention, and sexual and gender-based violence. With respect to the period of time before January 3, those violations continued in a manner and at a level entirely consistent with patterns documented by the mission in its many reports going back to 2020. The scale and nature of political repression remained largely unchanged over the course of those initial four months. we continue to be concerned that likely included crimes against humanity. Political developments since January 3 have brought a decline in long-term politically motivated detentions and also in the number of enforced disappearances. Despite the significant release of prisoners over the past eight months, however, hundreds of individuals continue to be arbitrarily detained in Venezuela, enduring harsh conditions in facilities where torture and ill-treatment remain endemic. After January 3, we observed a shift in patterns of detention. We have identified the use of short-term arbitrary detention and measures of intimidation against those perceived as opposing the government, including those who have been subjected previously to long-term detention. The detentions are often marked by periods of incommunicado detention and violations of important due process guarantees. These carry particular resonance, given the context of widespread abuses over the past decade, a potent reminder to political and human rights activists that their activities are monitored and that the repressive apparatus remains in place, prepared to limit freedoms if and how the authorities may decide to do so. We certainly welcome that a substantial number of prisoners who were detained before January 3 have now been released. The names of those released have not been made public, and in the absence of transparent and verifiable data, the numbers of prisoners released remain uncertain and contested. Between 800 and 1,000 prisoners have been released between September 2025 and August 2026. The mission is deeply concerned, however, that a substantial number of prisoners, between 325 and 450 individuals, remain arbitrarily detained, an ongoing and very serious human rights violation. While the scale has diminished, the mission has also continued to document cases of enforced disappearance and of deaths of prisoners in custody after January 3. Very significantly, the mission is deeply concerned about the ongoing prevalence of torture in a number of detention centers in Venezuela. We are particularly concerned about what we have documented at the maximum security prisons El Rodeo 1 and Fuerte Guaycapuro, where the largest number of individuals detained for political reasons are held. Our investigations, including extensive interviews with released prisoners, have allowed us to deepen the evidence of the frequency of torture and the particularly harsh nature of many of the methods used, including methods that we have not previously documented, notably the use of forced intubation and catheterization, a use of a technique known as the time machine, in which detainees are held in a sealed underground cistern, forced to remain naked and in complete darkness for periods ranging from a few days to three months, and another method known as the firefly, in which prisoners were held in cells reportedly infested with rats and insects for several days under conditions of constant artificial light. Torture is clearly frequently used as a means of punishing prisoners. The most common methods include punching and beatings with metallic objects, electric shocks, including to the genitals, suffocation with plastic bags, suspension by the hands and feet for prolonged periods of time, and lengthy confinement in isolation, often while prisoners are naked and exposed to low temperatures. These methods have continued well into 2026 and were inflicted, amongst others, on prisoners who protested detention conditions after the June earthquakes. Our key observation with respect to human rights in Venezuela since January 3 is that violations continue, even if the harshness and intensity of repression has lessened in the country. As noted by Sofia, we are deeply concerned that the entirety of Venezuela's repressive apparatus marked by an extensive legal framework enabled by notorious police, security, intelligence, and judicial bodies, agencies, and institutions, and presided over by politicians, security, and military officials whose responsibility for gross human rights violations, including in many instances likely crimes against humanity, has been extensively documented in past reports from the mission. That all remains entirely intact, with no indication at this time of an intention to advance the reforms needed to dismantle that reality and institute strong legal and institutional human rights protections in the country. That is not only something of potential concern, pointing to a worry of possible reactivation. It is an ongoing and current reality as well. Violations are occurring, and absent real change, There is every reason to believe that will continue and could, as has often been the case in the past, worsen again. Thank you. And now my colleague, Maria Luisa Quintero.

Muy buenas tardes y gracias a todos los que están presentes. El segundo informe que presentaré de forma muy breve, pero que pueden leer de manera extensa, Trata el sobre los colectivos, es decir, el papel que cumplen esos grupos civiles armados y cómo se relacionan con el Estado. La misión ha venido investigando la actuación de estos colectivos durante años, sus vínculos con las autoridades, pero no todos responden a los mismos intereses, ni son iguales, ni están en el mismo territorio. Los colectivos tienen distintas estructuras y distinta conformación. Nuestro informe actual. Está desarrollando no solamente todas las tipologías de los colectivos, sino que termina concluyendo en particular el estudio sobre grupos civiles armados que son progubernamentales, que han ejercido violencia y funciones de autoridad pública con distintos niveles de apoyo, coordinación o aquiescencia estatal, un hallazgo central. It's clear that the role of these armed groups goes far beyond intervening as shock groups during a demonstration. For example, the mission has reasonable grounds to believe that they have supported repression through tasks of surveillance and identification of people considered opponents, as well as through their participation in protests. Operativos de seguridad y acciones de represión política selectiva, frecuentemente en coordinación con fuerzas estatales, también en el control de economías ilícitas y en labores que encarnan impunidad. Al mismo tiempo, su presencia cotidiana en las comunidades les ha permitido ejercer otras formas de control. In determined lugares, los colectivos participan en la gestión o distribución de alimentos, combustibles, servicios y beneficios sociales, vigilan la actividad política y median en conflictos a través de la coacción. Para una persona residente, expresar una crítica puede ser consecuencia y tener actividades respecto de su seguridad, sino también con un proceso. Perdón, con un problema en el acceso a los recursos esenciales. Así se produce un clima de terror y de autocensura que restringe las libertades desde el ámbito comunitario. La investigación identificó varias formas de vinculación con el Estado. Entre ellas figura el respaldo público de las altas autoridades a los colectivos, el acceso a recursos, equipamiento y financiamiento. La incorporación de miembros de colectivos a instituciones públicas y cuerpos de seguridad, la presencia de funcionarios o exfuncionarios en estos grupos denominados colectivos. También durante el documento se pudo examinar que existe una delegación de funciones, la delegación. Expressa o implícita de funciones relacionadas con el orden público y el control territorial, la falta de investigaciones y de sanciones ha permitido que estas relaciones persistan en materia de responsabilidad. La misión distingue 2 cuestiones: encontró motivos razonables para creer que determinadas conductas de integrantes de colectivos son atribuibles al Estado, por ejemplo. When I put on an operation is bugged direction or control estatal, or in su condition formal de miembros de organos estatales, no concluimos que todos los colectivos considerados como grupos sean organos del estado, sin embargo. Con independencia de la atribución de un acto concreto, el Estado tiene la obligación de prevenir los abusos de estos grupos, de investigar los hechos, sancionar a los responsables y garantizar la reparación de las víctimas. El Estado no puede eludir su responsabilidad externalizando la violencia a actores nominalmente civiles. El informe muestra por qué. Una reforma de las instituciones formales por sí sola no bastaría para poner fin a estas prácticas. Recomendamos cesar el apoyo estatal a estos colectivos armados, recuperar el control legítimo sobre el uso de la fuerza y las armas, dejar de delegar funciones coercitivas a estructuras que son civiles y emprender un proceso progresivo, pacífico y basado. in los derechos humanos para su desarme, desmovilización y desmantelamiento. Es indispensable investigar tanto los abusos cometidos por sus integrantes como la participación o aquiescencia de funcionarios públicos.

Okay, thank you everyone for those opening statements. Now we'll open the floor to two questions. We can start with those in the room. If you have any questions, please just identify yourself and the media outlet that you're working for, and then please go ahead.

Thank you, Todd. Maria Alejandra Liztegueta, El Nacional. I'm going to pose three questions in Spanish and English alternatively so that you can all have a chance to answer. The first question is in Spanish. El informe senala que continuan el cierre de los medios. El bloqueo de portales informativos, usted misma lo acaba de señalar, la persecución de periodistas, la autocensura generalizada en Nacional ha sido una de las víctimas emblemáticas de esta política. ¿Qué medidas concretas tendría que abordar el Estado, incluida la restricción, la restitución de bienes y el levantamiento de los bloqueos, para que la misión considere que existe realmente una apertura real y no solamente una liberalización parcial e irreversible? The government claims to have released around 1,500 people, while independent sources say they only have been able to verify around 1,000 persons. Furthermore, between 379 and 500 people, you just talked about it recently, are reported to remain detained for political reasons, and the portion of those released continues to face criminal proceedings and restrictive measures. Can we truly talk about liberalization as long as there's no verifiable list and in the cases that have been not closed, that the conditions allow for a rearrest to persist? What should be understood at the state level by full freedom? My third question is regarding the military structure. The report notes that although there were changes in the military, high command, and in some institutions, the structures that made the repression possible essentially remain intact. Has the mission identified a real modification? Can you elaborate on this? You already expressed that you haven't really seen any, but can you elaborate on the modification of the chains of command, the control mechanisms and responsibilities of the armed forces. and the way that they are preserving the repressive capacity. Thank you very much.

Sure.

Gracias por las preguntas. Nos vamos a repartir las respuestas. Esta bien, tu la segunda?

Yeah, in English.

La primera es sobre los cierres de los medios de comunicación y las restricciones de la libertad de prensa y de expresión. Hemos tenido noticias que el gobierno acaba de ordenar abrir líneas de internet, pero no ha completado el total de las líneas que deberían haber sido abiertas para el. For the transmission libre de información, otro tema que nos parece sustantivo son las diferentes leyes, que todavía son casi 14 leyes o más que están. Attacando direttamente a las libertades de opinion y calificandolas como opositoras o como terroristas o contrarias al estado venezolano. También otra información que hemos documentado y que estamos documentando en este informe que estamos presentando del. De la mayoría del número de detenciones que hemos registrado, más de 37, la mayoría de ellos corresponden, si no es 26, corresponden a periodistas que han sido detenidos. Las características que ahora son detenciones cortas, no prolongadas, pero muchas de ellas con restricciones posteriores a la al a su excarcelación. Eso entonces para nosotros una. Manera de poder certificar que hay una garantía de libertad de prensa es, primero, la eliminación de las leyes que están restringiendo la libertad de expresión; segundo, la posibilidad de que. La prensa y los medios de comunicación tengan acceso a la información relevante que tiene que ver con la vida social y política de Venezuela. Uno de los temas que hemos encontrado en nuestra recolección de información es la absoluta falta de transparencia sobre lo que sucede en el país. Por ejemplo, ¿cuál es los nombres de esos 8000 personas que han sido liberadas con la ley de amnistía? That would be another indicator of how, effectively, a change is being produced and stop harassing, of course, journalists and lift the restrictions that we have on some of them still.

With respect to your second question of what does full freedom look like, I mean, I think that's a profound and very important and really at this time is the central question that Venezuelans deserve an answer to. And you posed it in particular in connection with the plight of political prisoners and the releases we have seen. And that's where it starts. While it is, of course, very welcome that there have been a substantial number of prisoners released, and that That is good for two reasons. Obviously, that is good for the prisoners and their families, many of whom have agonized as those detentions have gone on for a prolonged period of time. It is also a positive contribution to potentially an improving human rights situation. However, the fact that we still have not just a handful or a few dozen, but hundreds of prisoners who remain detained for politically motivated reasons, many of them held in harsh prison conditions in detention centers where torture is endemic and widespread, is not just a passing concern. That's a central priority preoccupation, certainly for the mission, and should be for the international community. So full freedom begins with full release. That can happen tomorrow. We saw in the early days after January 3 how quickly prisoner releases were happening, and that was before any amnesty law was promulgated. It simply took the government deciding, you will be freed. That could happen tomorrow, and we need to see that happen. But we also need to see changes that are going to make sure that political arbitrary detention does not continue to be an ongoing phenomenon in Venezuela. Our past reports have documented numerous ways in which we need to see reforms, reforms to how prisons are managed, prison registries, clarity around numbers, the curtailment of incommunicado detention, the reform of laws which allow for arbitrary arrest, measures to deal with the security forces that have had complete impunity to carry out these kinds of arrests as well. So I think we need to see both dimensions. We need to see freedom for those who are locked up right now, but we need to see the reform agenda that is going to ensure that this does not continue to be a concern.

Should I answer the second one, or does in it?

If you wish.

Did you want the answer to the third one in English or in Spanish, or does it matter?

Okay, so you can...

Respecto a su tercera pregunta, que tiene que ver con el aparato de represión y por qué continúa y por qué decimos que continúa en el informe general, que es el informe más corto, y en el documento que le acompaña, que le estará subiendo, como dijo Todd, el día de hoy, nosotros, por un lado, rearmamos. La estructura del aparato de la represión, conforme las instituciones que han sido más señaladas desde nuestras investigaciones, no más señaladas por las víctimas, por los casos en nuestras investigaciones y que tienen relación directa con los mecanismos que llevan a las grandes violaciones a derechos humanos. Entonces, desde siempre, también la misión ha venido investigando y detallando al aparato de la represión y en esta oportunidad.

With the analysis that we conducted, the characteristics that make an apparatus of repression continue are confirmed. In those characteristics, as with any apparatus or system, there are people who are its elements or institutions that carry them out. There are the rules, and also there are those mechanisms that ensure that the rules are being complied with. We have seen that some elements, which are the figures of higher rank, have been And, so, that's in the role, or that's the other side of the role, and so it's looking at the analysis of the permanence or not of certain figures, so that's the other side of the role, and so it's looking.

Si cambiando alguno de sus elementos, sino por sobre todo aquellos mecanismos que hacen posible que se perpetúen, sí, los las alianzas, las formas y los modus operandis para dar por resultado las violaciones sistemáticas a los derechos humanos. Entonces, en ese informe que va usted.

Thank you. All right, now we'll take the next question.

If you could just please identify yourself.

Luis Carlos Diaz, periodista venezolano. Tengo 2 preguntas para esta parte. The first is that in the report from last year, there are indications of sexual slavery and forced prostitution of prisoners and political prisoners. For this year, they deepened in that line and in the line of sexual violence. I would like to know if there are findings, if there are new things to denounce, and if there is some kind of investigation on this part of the authorities. La segunda pregunta tiene que ver con ustedes. Hablaron de unos funcionarios que aparecen nombrados en distintos informes y que nuevamente son señalados en este. ¿Pudiesen compartirnos esa lista? ¿Quiénes son? Gracias.

Sí, sobre los indicios de esclavitud sexual y en general, las. Specifico de la. Las torturas que se están ejerciendo sobre que están sufriendo las mujeres, hemos seguido desarrollando, hemos recogido no necesariamente de lo que ha sucedido en el último periodo. Nuestro informe es del 01/09/2025 al 01/09/2026. Sin embargo, en este informe estamos haciendo. Una síntesis de lo que ya teníamos documentado anteriormente, y o sea, poniendo reflectores específicos a lo que sufren las mujeres, y si se la situación que es que es permanece todavía es particularmente delicada, con desnudos, tocamientos, asaltos, de amenazas, de violación. So, those situations are still ongoing in the detention, and also not only the people and women who are detained, but we also have information from the family members, women, that they are allowed, and in some prisons, only the family members are allowed to enter. They also suffer this type of sexual aggression. There is documentation on this problem, the particular way in which women suffer detention, and it is a practice that is still maintained.

So, excuse me, but I'll respond to you in English.

But yes, I mean, our report does identify a number of names. We identified 12 individuals who are current office holders at senior levels. who have been previously named in numerous reports in past years, often in extensive detail, when we have documented human rights violations and international crimes, crimes against humanity. We also refer to six other individuals who are linked to institutions that are involved in repression, who also remain in public office. We want to be clear that we are not a court. We are not convicting any of these 18 individuals. We are not formally criminally charging them. We are not a prosecutorial service. We have believed from extensive research in the past that there are reasonable grounds to believe that, and that's the standard we used, that there's concerns here which support the need for further investigation. So really what we are doing by drawing attention again to the fact, this is not the first time that we have put any of those names in the public domain. That has happened repeatedly in past reports, but we are drawing renewed attention to the fact that we have previously shone the light on those individuals, their actions, their role, the institutions which they've been associated with, and have said this is something that needs scrutiny. This is something which ideally should be taken up through a legitimate criminal investigation, prosecution, and charge and trial process if warranted. We're renewing that at this point, but we're also highlighting the concern that it should be of very preoccupying that individuals who have been highlighted in that way in the past at this moment of such significance for Venezuela around the potential for human rights change, that these are the individuals who remain in the key senior positions that have authority in the areas that are relevant. to security and safety and freedom and human rights is not okay. And it's one of the key reasons why we believe that the repressive apparatus remains largely as it has been.

Okay, thanks. Yes, sure, go ahead. Did you have a follow-up?

Yes, just a follow-up question. and I would like your reply to be in English. Is there any cooperation on the side of the interim authorities? I mean, have you had any contact with the regime? Have you been able to speak to them? Have they offered any different perspective to your findings? Is there any willingness on their side, or should I say any communication on their side, with the fact-finding mission? Thank you.

You likely know that the long-standing previous answer to that question is no, that we have over the years repeatedly sought meetings with, engagement with Venezuelan authorities, that we are both willing to do that outside of the country, here at the United Nations, for instance, certainly inside the country. We have repeatedly asked to have access to the country so that we can come to Venezuela, advance our human rights investigations on the ground, but also have meaningful dialogue with authorities in place in the country. And that has always been rebuffed. We wondered, we hoped, and maybe even partially anticipated and expected that the aftermath of January the 3rd might change the dynamics around that. So we have renewed our outreach to the Venezuelan authorities. We have sent two formal requests since January the 3rd, repeating our request to have access to the country. We have sought to have meetings when we're here in Geneva at the United Nations, and unfortunately it remains the same. I wouldn't say that we've been refused access to the country, we've not been granted access, we're simply getting no response. And we think that's unfortunate for two reasons. Firstly, obviously, having access to the country would be an advantage in our human rights work. We're able to do incredible and extensive work from outside the country, but there is obviously an element that you can't replicate by being on the ground, by meeting in person with individuals, by being able to go into the prisons and see and talk with prisoners in that context. So obviously important in terms of deepening and strengthening the human rights work, but also at a time when the international community is asking itself, are we seeing change in Venezuela? To grant access to our fact-finding mission would be one aspect that goes in the maybe column, because if the authorities were willing to demonstrate that they're prepared to allow a body that has been an outspoken critic of the country's human rights record and has done so very publicly for a number of years and is now prepared to engage with us, to allow us to do our work on the ground, that obviously would be a positive sign. But it is not the sign that we're seeing at this point.

Thank you.

Do you have any message for victims and family members who during this year did not want or could not give declarations to you, to the investigative team, above all because there is fear of reprisals, there is fear of persecution, there is still people who have the consequences of torture, any message that you want to send, since this is being seen in Venezuelan communication media?

Yes, very important. So, we're going to. So, if you're not listening to victims or people who have some suffering or who have something to denounce, it's for that that the mission of determination of facts is possible to access to us. It's possible now that it's possible with the With the internet, we can reach out to them and receive their testimonies. I think the message for them is that the work of this international mission is just created to document and make That the international community take knowledge of what is going on with each one of them, and we hope that they have the tranquility that the information that is delivered to us. Guarda la confidencialidad, guarda la secrecía, y podemos proteger su identidad y que no deben de temer de acercarse a nosotros, que eso nosotros podemos garantizar. Hay, además, en Venezuela, muchas organizaciones de la sociedad civil que están preparadas también. for the connection and to be able to get to the mission. And I think it's also important to tell the civil society, the non-governmental organizations of Venezuela, that have a direct relationship with people who are suffering from violations of their human rights, that they facilitate this communication with the mission of us.

Okay, thank you. I don't see any questions online. Are there any more from the room that anybody would like to pose? Okay, if not, that will bring us to the end of this press conference, and thank you very much for joining us. Thanks.