UN Warns Chavismo's Repressive Machinery Remains Unchanged Nine Months After Maduro's Capture

The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela reported on Wednesday that the state institutions responsible for repression, severe human rights abuses, and crimes against humanity in the country remain largely untouched, despite the nine months that have passed since Nicolás Maduro's capture.

Released from Geneva, the report acknowledges some progress following the U.S. military operation on January 3, 2026: reduced prolonged detentions, the release of hundreds of political prisoners, and a slightly wider margin for protests and civil society activities.

Nevertheless, the mission cautions that these changes have not been accompanied by any substantial institutional reforms.

The laws used to criminalize dissent still exist, the intelligence services and security forces maintain their same structures and practices, and no measures have been taken to disarm or dismantle pro-government armed groups.

At least 19 officials previously identified by the mission as responsible for serious violations remain in — or have been reassigned to — key positions within the regime.

A central figure in this apparatus is Diosdado Cabello Rondón, who has overseen the Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace since August 2024, wielding direct control over the Bolivarian National Police, the National Guard, the CICPC, and SEBIN.

Human rights organizations have flagged him as the chief executor of the repressive machine that the UN describes as unchanged.

"The reduction of some of the most severe forms of repression is significant, but by no means constitutes a transformation of the system that made them possible," stated Sofía Macher, president of the mission.

She added, "As long as repressive structures remain intact, judicial independence is not assured, and human rights violators are not duly investigated and sanctioned, any opening will remain fragile and reversible."

The mission documented 64 new cases of torture since January 3, indicating these practices remain widespread.

At El Rodeo I maximum-security prison, incidents of forced intubation and prolonged confinement in a sealed underground cistern, referred to by inmates as "the time machine," were reported.

In the military facility Fuerte Guaicaipuro, the mission noted cells dug below ground level, food deprivation, and exposure to cold.

One case investigated was that of Víctor Quero Navas, a street vendor who died in custody while forcibly disappeared. His mother, Carmen Teresa Navas, was only informed of his whereabouts over a year after his detention and ten months posthumously. She passed away ten days later.

According to non-government organizations, between 379 and 500 individuals remain detained for political reasons, contrasting with the more than 1,000 releases the government of Delcy Rodríguez claims to have completed since January.

Foro Penal, Venezuela's main NGO tracking political prisoners, could only verify 894 releases by August 25, reporting 328 political detainees as of September 8.

This scenario underscores the limitations of the three-phase plan — stabilization, economic recovery, and political transition — announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in January 2026 to guide Venezuela's change process.

The mission also presented a detailed study on armed groups, concluding that their expansion "was not accidental but rather a political strategy aimed at strengthening support bases for their political project, also through violence and coercion," during the administrations of Hugo Chávez and Maduro.

Expert Alex Neve urged Washington and other influential actors to intensify pressure for genuine human rights changes, cautioning that their actions should not "contribute to further human rights violations or facilitate the commission of international crimes."

The reports will be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, September 18.