The building of the National Assembly of Venezuela. Independent UN mission report: Venezuela National Guard ‘committing crimes against humanity’ International Law
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has stated that the country’s National Guard has committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity for more than a decade. This is stated in the mission report published on Thursday.
The document, prepared during the work of mission members Martha Valinhas, Francisco Cox Vial and Patricia Tappata Valdez, contains a detailed analysis of the internal structure and chain of command of the National Guard. The report notes that members of this formation are involved in arbitrary killings, illegal detentions, sexual and gender-based violence, torture and other ill-treatment. These practices have been used both during protests and as part of targeted acts of political persecution since 2014. “The facts we have documented show the role of the National Guard in the systematic and coordinated suppression of opponents or those perceived as such. This has been going on for more than ten years,” said mission chairwoman Martha Valinhas. She stressed that this situation requires decisive action from national and international mechanisms for bringing those responsible to justice.
Uncontrolled powers
The report states that Venezuela’s national security doctrine effectively merged military and police functions, legitimizing the militarization of the public security sector and expanding the powers of the National Guard in operations to suppress dissent. A centralized command system, with the country’s president as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, allowed illegal actions to take place without any oversight or accountability. During protests in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2024, the Guard used excessive force, including the use of firearms and modified ammunition, to cause the greatest harm. The mission also documented mass detentions, physical violence during arrests, fabrication of evidence, torture and sexual violence in National Guard premises used as temporary detention centers.
“Part of a systematic practice”
“Torture, ill-treatment and acts of sexual violence, including rape, were not isolated incidents. This is part of a systematic practice,” Valinhas noted. According to civil society data, the National Guard is responsible for the largest number of politically motivated arrests in 2019–2020. In 2024, the Guard played a key role in Operation Tun Tun, which targeted opponents of the government by bringing unfounded charges of terrorism and incitement to hatred. The mission revealed a persistent pattern of impunity maintained by the Venezuelan judicial system: delaying investigations, manipulation of evidence, deliberate obstruction of justice by the National Guard and limiting responsibility to the lowest. ranks. The report concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that members of the National Guard, as well as senior military and political leaders, may be subject to criminal liability under the Rome Statute. “The mission has reasonable grounds to believe that representatives of the National Guard have made a significant contribution to the commission of crimes [by the Venezuelan authorities], including arbitrary detention, torture, gender-based violence and persecution,” concluded Valinhas.