HRW Warns Venezuela Repression Pause Reversible Without Deep Reforms

Human Rights Watch (HRW) concluded its first official visit to Venezuela since 2008 on Friday, finding a visible decrease in state persecution since January 3 but warning the repressive institutional framework remains intact. Executive subdirector Federico Borello described the current climate as a "pause" in repression rather than a structural transformation.

During the visit, the HRW delegation met with interim President Delcy Rodríguez at Miraflores Palace, as well as opposition figures, journalists, rights activists, and families of political prisoners. Borello credited external and internal pressure for the shift following Maduro's capture by U.S. forces.

“Without those reforms, everything can go back to how it was before.”

Authorities have released hundreds of detainees, passed an amnesty law in February, unblocked some media websites, and announced judicial reforms. Activists and opposition members reported feeling freer to operate compared to previous years.

However, HRW documented at least 344 political prisoners still detained, with others under house arrest or facing restrictions. The organization cited allegations of torture, due process violations, and extortion by judicial officials and prosecutors.

Borello stressed that without deep institutional reforms — including repealing laws like the Anti-Terrorism Law and closing the Rodeo I prison — the gains are fragile. "Without those reforms, everything can go back to how it was before," he warned, echoing a UN fact-finding mission report this week noting the repressive apparatus remains intact.