Venezuela: Bolivarian National Guard responsible for systematic violations and crimes against humanity, UN Fact-Finding Mission says

GENEVA – Officials of Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) have committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity for more than a decade, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela said in its latest report today.

The report – which includes an in-depth analysis of the internal operational structures of the GNB, including its chain of command – concluded that GNB officials perpetrated arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary detentions, sexual and gender-based violence, as well as torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment during law enforcement operations in the context of protests and in actions of targeted political persecution since 2014. The persistence of these abuses reflects structural failures within Venezuela’s accountability and political system which have further entrenched impunity.