The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission says the force has played a central role in systematic repression since 2014, reinforcing impunity and violating fundamental rights.
“The facts we have documented show the role of the GNB in a system of systematic and coordinated repression against opponents or those perceived as such, which has continued for more than a decade. » says Marta Valiñas, president of the mission.
“The persistence of these crimes and the lack of adequate justice require a determined response from national and international accountability mechanisms. »
Force excessive
The GNB has used excessive force, including inappropriate use of lethal weapons, during periods of heavy protest in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2024.
The Mission said it had reasonable grounds to believe that officials fired indiscriminately at protesters, including directly targeting vital areas of the body.
Investigators also received reports of projectiles modified to cause more damage.
They also documented mass and targeted arbitrary detentions, physical violence during arrests, planted evidence, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence at GNB facilities used as temporary detention centers.
Abuse pattern
“The torture, ill-treatment and acts of sexual violence that we have seen – including assault and rape – are not isolated incidents. They are part of a system of abuse used to punish and break victims,” Ms Valiñas said.
The report reveals that the GNB played a central role in politically motivated persecution, which constitutes a crime against humanity.
Military force also played a key role in the 2024 post-election “Operation Tun Tun” (Spanish for “knock, knock”) raids that sought to target and criminalize opponents through unfounded accusations of terrorism or incitement to hatred.
Structural impunity and systemic failures
The report identifies what the Mission described as “a pattern of structural impunity supported by systemic failures within the Venezuelan justice system, revealing its inability or refusal to investigate or prosecute violations committed by the GNB.”
This situation is further characterized by stalled investigations, prolonged procedural paralysis, manipulation of evidence, deliberate obstruction by the GNB and accountability exclusively limited to junior staff.
The report contains an in-depth analysis of the branch’s internal operational structures, including its chain of command.
It also details how Venezuela’s “national security” doctrine has merged military and police functions, thereby legitimizing the militarization of public security and expanding the GNB’s role in operations aimed at social control and internal repression.
About the fact-finding mission
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was established by the UN Human Rights Council in September 2019 to assess alleged violations committed in the country since 2014.
Over the past year, she has also focused on investigating the human rights situation around the disputed 2024 presidential elections and violence perpetrated by pro-government militias known as “colectivos.”
The Mission is made up of three members who receive their mandate from the Human Rights Council, based in Geneva. They are not UN staff and are not paid for their work.
Originally published in The European Times.
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