UN fact-finding mission tells the Human Rights Council that Venezuela's repressive apparatus remains in place

21 September 2026

The independent Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela updated the UN Human Rights Council on 21 September 2026.
Its Chair, Sofía Macher, said Venezuela's machinery of repression has remained largely intact and "the repressive apparatus remains in place".
Some restrictions on civil society have eased since the United States removed President Nicolás Maduro from power in January, an intervention the mission called contrary to international law.
Short-term arbitrary detentions have increased and hundreds of people remain arbitrarily detained.
The mission named the El Rodeo I prison and the Fuerte Guaicaipuro military facility as places of particular concern.