On January 26, Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice announced its decision to uphold bans on opposition presidential candidate María Corina Machado and two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, preventing them from holding any public office for 15 years. Neither Machado nor Capriles were provided the right to defend themselves against accusations made, therefore violating their rights to due process and defense by international human rights standards. As the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has underscored, sanctions to disqualify candidates should only be imposed thr ..read more

(John Moore/Getty Images) By: Laura Cristina Dib The political scenario in Venezuela has changed since 2019, when over 50 countries recognized the interim government of Juan Guaidó. In December 2022, the interim government was dissolved, and changes of government in countries such as Brazil and Colombia, among others, have led to the resumption of diplomatic relations with the Maduro government. In addition, the U.S.’ position towards the Venezuelan government has moved from a strategy of maximum pressure to one that prioritizes negotiations and is open to relaxing sanctions in exchange for me ..read more

Laura Cristina Dib/WOLA In this personal feature, Laura Cristina Dib, Director for Venezuela, recounts her impressions after returning to Colombia’s border with Venezuela for the first time since 2019. Her visit at the end of May to the cities of Villa del Rosario and Cúcuta (Colombia) and San Cristóbal (Venezuela) offers a glimpse into the relations of two countries, whose common border opened in September 2022 for the first time in seven years. Dib found that migrants and refugees were facing the same humanitarian needs as in previous years but discovered that migration patterns seemed to be ..read more

(Manaure Quintero/Getty Images) The Venezuelan opposition is moving towards primaries to select a candidate for the 2024 presidential elections. As the parties search for a unified opposition candidate, there are still significant questions as to how these elections will happen, who can participate, and how they can be given a sense of legitimacy. In February, the National Commission for the Primary Election in Venezuela announced that primaries will be held on October 22, 2023. Several opposition parties have already named their presidential candidates going into the primaries, including Carl ..read more

Download the complete letter here. Bogotá, April 24, 2023  Dear President of the Republic of Colombia Gustavo Petro Re: Bogotá Summit Please receive warm greetings from the undersigned international human rights organizations, who have accompanied civil society and victims and survivors of human rights violations in Venezuela and advocated for the respect and protection of human rights in this country in the face of the current crisis. Our organizations welcome your call for the so-called “Bogotá Summit” in the hope that it will be a fruitful space to address issues that afflict the peopl ..read more

On February 22, several Executive Council members of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), including WOLA’s Senior Fellow David Smilde, released a statement expressing their concern about the serious situation of professors in Venezuelan public universities, whose ability to carry out their academic work adequately is being seriously undermined by the deterioration of their salaries and working conditions. The lack of adequate remuneration affects academic freedom and the right to education of university students, compromising the scientific and social development of the country. The ..read more

Carolina Cabral/Getty Images (Caracas, February 16, 2022). First of all, please receive our best wishes for success in your administration. Your aspirations for peace, more and better democracy, as well as the full enjoyment of human rights for all Colombians are also ours. Any step in that direction will have the support and applause of the different social and community organizations that make life in Venezuela and in other countries of the region. The purpose of this communication is to express our concern for the possible approval of the “Law for the Control, Regularization, Performance an ..read more

(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) On December 30th, the opposition-led National Assembly elected in 2015 in Venezuela voted to terminate the figure of the “interim government.” This effectively ended the internal leadership role of Juan Guaidó, who had been recognized by the U.S. government and some of its allies as the interim president of Venezuela since 2019. Three of the four major opposition parties (Un Nuevo Tiempo, Primero Justicia, and Acción Democratica) in the 2015 National Assembly voted  in favor of ending the opposition’s claim to an interim government as of January 4th, while Volun ..read more

(AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) [Geneva and Washington D.C. 26 January, 2023]. The undersigned organizations express our deep concern over the approval in the first round of a bill that seeks to criminalize and further hinder the work of civil society organizations in Venezuela: Law of Supervision, Regularization, Performance and Financing of Non-Governmental and Related Organizations (Ley de Fiscalización, Regularización, Actuación y Financiamiento de las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales y Afines). This bill was introduced by the ruling party at the Venezuelan National Assembly —elected in 2020 ..read more

(AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) A little more than a year after the regional and municipal elections of November 2021, and in the framework of the commemoration of January 23 as the date that marks the birth of democracy in Venezuela, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the reconstruction of the electoral route, an unavoidable path for the peaceful transformation of the serious conflict that affects all Venezuelans today. The renewal of the electoral authorities in May 2021, and the consequent incorporation of two non-official rectors in the National Electoral Council (CNE), implied a decisiv ..read more