The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission has released a report detailing the systematic repression carried out by the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) in Venezuela since 2014. The report highlights the role of the GNB in perpetrating human rights violations and entrenching impunity within the country.
According to Marta Valiñas, the Chair of the Mission, the GNB has been involved in a pattern of coordinated repression against opponents or perceived opponents for over a decade. The report documents instances of excessive force used by the GNB during periods of protest in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2024. This includes the improper use of lethal weapons, indiscriminate firing on protestors, and the modification of projectiles to cause greater harm.
Furthermore, the Mission found evidence of mass and targeted arbitrary detentions, physical violence during arrests, planting of evidence, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence within GNB facilities used as temporary detention centers. Valiñas stated that the acts of torture, ill-treatment, and sexual violence were part of a pattern of abuse aimed at punishing and breaking victims.
The report also accuses the GNB of being a central actor in the commission of persecution on political grounds, which is considered a crime against humanity. The GNB played a key role in the post-election “Operation Tun Tun” raids in 2024, which aimed to criminalize opponents through unfounded accusations of terrorism or incitement to hatred.
The report highlights the structural impunity and systemic failures within the Venezuelan judicial system, which has enabled the GNB to evade accountability for its actions. The Mission identified a pattern of structural impunity, sustained by systemic failures, including stalled investigations, manipulation of evidence, and deliberate obstruction by the GNB. Accountability measures are limited to low-ranking personnel, while higher-ranking officials remain immune from prosecution.
The report delves into the internal operational structures of the GNB, including its chain of command. It also discusses how Venezuela’s “national security” doctrine has allowed for the militarization of public security, expanding the GNB’s role in operations aimed at social control and internal repression.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was established to investigate human rights violations in the country. The mission aims to shed light on the atrocities committed by state actors and hold them accountable for their actions.
The findings of the report paint a grim picture of the human rights situation in Venezuela, with the GNB at the center of systematic repression and violence against its own citizens. The international community must take heed of these findings and work towards ensuring accountability for those responsible for these egregious violations.
