AMÉRICA EDITORIAL (EFE).— The attack that the United States carried out a month ago against Venezuela and ended with the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, constituted “an illegal use of force,” Amnesty International (AI) warned yesterday, while noting that even in the midst of this scenario the “machinery of repression did not stop.”
The organization’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, assured that the US intervention constituted “a clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations”, as well as “an act of aggression” that “endangered the civilian population” and “destroys the safeguards of international law.”
“The Trump administration’s use of force was not only illegal, but could encourage unlawful actions by other states and herald similar actions by the United States in the future,” Callamard said, quoted in a press release.
According to Amnesty, amid the uncertainty generated by “the volatile internal situation and the persistence of the State’s repressive apparatus, the Venezuelan population faces increasing interference from the United States, the lack of comprehensive and lasting human rights solutions, and threats of additional harm to their rights and security.”
“Impunity for crimes against humanity committed by Venezuelan authorities under Maduro’s rule for more than a decade continues, until now, with the government in charge of Delcy Rodríguez. Although some detained people are being released, no significant measures have been taken to achieve justice nor have guarantees of non-repetition been given,” Callamard said.
At the same time, he continued, threats to civil society space “persist, and human rights defenders and their organizations continue to face the risk of persecution and criminalization.”
He noted that during the first days of the caretaker government, security forces, intelligence agencies and pro-government armed groups “have continued to detain people, surveil communities and intimidate those suspected of supporting the January 3 attack.”
“Let us be clear: Amnesty International unequivocally condemns both the illicit use of force by the United States and the multiple crimes committed by Venezuelan authorities,” said Callamard.
He explained that the denunciation of the intervention “should not in any way overshadow the urgent need for accountability and reparation for the serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by the Venezuelan government.”
“One mistake is not corrected by another. There must be complete accountability and reparation for the Trump administration’s illegal attack against Venezuela and for the crimes” of the Venezuelan authorities, the secretary declared.
amnesty law
Amnesty International called for the law not to favor impunity for the authorities
”Mechanism of impunity”
The organization urged that the amnesty law proposed by the Delcy Rodríguez government for political prisoners detained since 1999 does not become a “mechanism of impunity.”
Lack of certainty
He warned that the law should not be allowed to apply to agents of the State, and that it is insufficient if there are no guarantees of non-repetition.
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