Mr. President,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela presents its annual report to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 57/36. The report contains findings concerning the human rights situation in Venezuela during the period from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026.

The report is accompanied by two conference room papers. The first examines developments relating to the principal human rights violations falling within the Mission’s mandate and the continuity of the State's repressive apparatus. The second examines the role of civilian groups known as colectivos and their links with State authorities. Both investigations were conducted pursuant to the mandate entrusted to the Mission by the Council.

The reporting period was marked by an extraordinary event: the military intervention carried out by the United States of America on 3 January, which led to the apprehension of Nicolás Maduro and opened a new political chapter in the country. The Mission has characterized that intervention as contrary to international law.

Regarding the period between September and December 2025, the Mission’s findings confirmed that human rights violations continued to occur on a scale and according to patterns fully consistent with those documented in its previous reports.

The change in government and political developments since 3 January have resulted in observable changes in the human rights situation. The interim Government introduced changes to the Cabinet, the expanded High Command of the Armed Forces, and the structure and composition of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. It also modified the political discourse, emphasizing messages of peace and national reconciliation, and adopted measures of political liberalization, which have contributed to a revival of public activity.

The Government initiated a process of releases from detention which, from late February onwards, continued under a new Amnesty Law. Starting at the end of January, the Mission observed a significant decrease in politically motivated arbitrary detentions, particularly prolonged detentions, as well as in enforced disappearances. The Mission recognizes that these qualitative changes have had tangible consequences for many Venezuelans and their families.

The names of those released have not been made public and, in the absence of transparent and verifiable information, the total number of persons released remains uncertain and contested. The Mission estimates that between 800 and 1,000 individuals were released between September 2025 and August 2026.

Mr. President,

The Mission continued to record new arbitrary arrests after 3 January. According to its estimates, at least 17 such cases occurred during the first eight months of the year. This represents a marked decrease compared with the same period of the previous year. However, this reduction was accompanied by an increase in short-term arbitrary detentions, which authorities appeared to use as a means of intimidation against persons opposed to, or perceived as opposed to, the Government, including some individuals who until recently had been subjected to prolonged detention.

This carries particular significance in the context of the widespread abuses committed over the past decade. It serves as a powerful reminder to political and human rights activists that their activities continue to be monitored and that the repressive apparatus remains in place.

Despite the substantial release of detainees during the past eight months, hundreds of individuals remain arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and continue to endure harsh conditions in facilities where torture and ill-treatment remain endemic. In the absence of official public data, non-governmental organizations estimate that between 379 and 500 persons remain detained for political reasons. These figures return the country to levels that prevailed prior to the 2024 presidential elections.

The Mission remains deeply concerned regarding the possible continuation of a systematic attack against the civilian population within the meaning of article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Although certain violations have decreased, the Mission has continued to document cases of enforced disappearance and deaths of persons while in custody after 3 January.

The Mission is particularly concerned by the persistence of torture in several detention facilities in Venezuela. We are especially troubled by the information gathered regrading the situation at the maximum-security prison El Rodeo I and at the military detention facility Fuerte Guaicaipuro, where the largest numbers of persons detained for political reasons are currently held.

The Mission’s investigations, including extensive interviews with individuals who have regained their freedom, have enabled it to strengthen the evidentiary basis concerning both the frequency of torture and the particularly cruel nature of many of the methods employed, including methods that the Mission had not previously documented.

Mr. President,

The central question addressed by the Mission’s report this year is whether the perceived changes in the political and human rights situation have been accompanied by a transformation of the structures that enabled repression over many years.

To date, the Mission has not identified sufficient indications of a genuine and sustainable break from the Government of President Maduro or from the patterns of repression that characterized that period. On the contrary, it has found that the structure of the State's repressive apparatus has remained entirely intact.

The persistence of the repressive apparatus is reflected in the continued existence of the same legal framework that has been used by the State to curtail the autonomous functioning of actors within the civic and democratic space; in the absence of reforms to police, security and intelligence institutions involved, through action or omission, in repression; in the lack of accountability for perpetrators of serious human rights violations and international crimes; in continued restrictions affecting civil society organizations, media outlets and political parties; in the harassment that social and political leaders and activists continue to face; and in the ongoing surveillance and social control to which the population remains subject.

Perhaps the clearest indication that the repressive apparatus remains operational, and continues to influence high-level decision-making in the country, is the continued presence within both the civilian and military hierarchy of actors involved in past repression and individuals alleged to have perpetrated it.

The uncertainty currently facing the country, together with the limited and easily reversible nature of the changes observed, was illustrated by two developments that occurred yesterday. On the one hand, the National Telecommunications Commission announced, in the context of the political dialogue between the Government and the opposition, “the formal restoration of access to various national and international digital platforms and media outlets”. On the other hand, information emerged concerning the arrest of former opposition mayor Javier Oropeza, who had returned to Venezuela only three days earlier after having been forced into exile in 2024. He was released five hours later after protests erupted.

Mr. President,

During the present reporting cycle, the Mission deepened its investigations into the role of armed civilian groups known as colectivos.

The Mission has reasonable grounds to believe that these groups have supported repression by carrying out surveillance activities, identifying targets for repression, and participating in protest control, security operations and selective acts of political repression, all within a climate of near-total impunity.

At the same time, their day-to-day presence within communities has enabled them to exercise other forms of control. Colectivos participate in the management and distribution of food, fuel, public services and social benefits; monitor political activity; and mediate disputes through coercive means.

The Mission documented several forms of linkage between colectivos and the State, including public support from senior authorities; access to resources, equipment and funding; the incorporation of members of these groups into public institutions and security forces; and conversely, the participation of current or former public officials in such groups. The Mission also concluded that there exists an express or implicit delegation of functions relating to public order and social control.

Colectivos cannot be considered formal organs of the State. Nevertheless, the Mission has reasonable grounds to believe that certain conduct by members of colectivos is attributable to the State.

Regardless of whether a specific act is attributable to the State, the State remains under an obligation to prevent abuses committed by these groups, investigate alleged violations, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure reparations for victims.

Mr. President,

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela now has an opportunity to move towards genuine change.

A sustainable improvement in the human rights situation, and meaningful progress towards restoring the rule of law and democratic governance, require reform of the institutions and legislation associated with political repression over the past decade; accountability before justice for perpetrators of serious human rights violations and international crimes; and recognition and reparation for victims.

I thank you for your attention.