Venezuela’s Government Has Taken Its People Hostage

Venezuela has reached the limits of civility, politics, and diplomacy. An election that the United Nations and the Carter Center said lacked both transparency and integrity was held on July 28. Opposition candidate Edmundo González beat the socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro in a landslide. Almost 4 million votes were the difference between the two candidates, the largest margin in the history of any election in Venezuela. To prove these results, the opposition party carried out an almost clandestine scheme for months to obtain and upload voting tallies for all to see.

These data have unequivocally exposed the fraud implemented and ratified by the regime’s Electoral Council and Supreme Court. Now, the regime, the world, and Venezuelans know the truth. Facing these facts, the regime has decided to ramp up the brutal repression that Venezuelans have faced for years. One month after the election, 27 people have been killed by security forces and regime-backed armed groups; almost 1,700 people have been illegally detained, including 107 teenagers and 216 women. They are being held in common jails with real criminals facing heavy torture and sexual abuse. Moreover, the Military Counterintelligence Agency has launched a “knock-knock” operation targeting anyone who has worked in the opposition campaign or has shown support for González or his fellow opposition leader, María Corina Machado, on social media. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has defined these savage practices as state terrorism.

After the regime’s 25 years in power, it was predictable that it would refuse to recognize the election results despite the opposition’s securing the largest win in the country’s history. During the campaign, members of the regime received offers of amnesty and a safety net if they conceded defeat, but it seems they have decided to go down in flames and maintain power by force despite being overwhelmingly rejected by the people. To ensure his survival, Maduro recently appointed Diosdado Cabello as his so-called minister of the interior and justice, and has issued an illegal warrant for the arrest of President-elect González.

Cabello is the most sanguinary member of the regime. He is sanctioned by the United States, Canada, and the European Union for organizing and exporting drugs to Europe through Venezuelan rivers and airports. In his first 24 hours as the head of security, he ordered the kidnapping of Machado’s lawyer, Perkins Rocha, and illegally detained political leader Biaggio Pillieri after a peaceful protest on August 28. Maduro has ordered the construction of new jails to accommodate the influx of political prisoners and has retained Russian ally Vladimir Padrino López as the minister of defense in his new cabinet. Maduro, Padrino López — who has been minister of defense since 2014 — and other regime insiders have been sanctioned and charged by the U.S. government for allegedly partnering with Colombia’s FARC rebels to “flood” the U.S. with cocaine.

The dictatorship is closing ranks. It doesn’t have anything left but the use of force. This is a nation that is run by security forces and irregular armed groups. A nation where illicit activities account for 21 percent of the economy. A nation run by a drug cartel that controls oil refineries, gas fields, gold mines, electricity, and the whole public infrastructure. If this criminal enterprise prevails, a new wave of migration will be unavoidable (almost 8 million Venezuelans are already displaced) and more cartels and gangs will be exported to other countries. The security and stability of the region will be threatened.

In this context, neutrality regarding the ongoing crisis in Venezuela is complicity in Maduro’s crimes. There are urgent actions that must be taken to punish the regime. Individual sanctions must be placed on those responsible for human-rights violations. The International Criminal Court, which has been investigating members of the regime for more than five years, should issue arrest warrants against those who have committed crimes against humanity. The United Nations should include on its agenda for the General Assembly meeting this month the ongoing crisis that Venezuela is suffering at the hands of a small elite that does not want to cede power after losing an election.

There were moments in the past when the opposition was criticized for not being united and for boycotting elections. Some even said that the democratic resistance was violent despite its taking to the streets peacefully. Today, there are no excuses. The vast majority of Venezuelans bravely voted for change in an environment of heavy repression and social control. A nation that was polarized is now kidnapped. The world must act before it is too late for the Venezuelan people.

This article was originally published in the National Review by VOC Senior Fellow David Smolansky.