Venezuela's pattern of arrests of opposition members' relatives to create fear

20/9/2025 6:32

Venezuela arrests opposition figures' family members in a "sustained and systematic pattern" to generate fear and social control, a United Nations fact-finding mission said in an upcoming report.



The report, seen by Reuters on Friday, is set to be presented at a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council next week. It is based on research conducted from September 2024 through August this year.



The South American country's opposition and international human rights bodies have denounced an escalating crackdown on opposition figures there since a July 2024 presidential election.



The opposition published ballot box tallies showing a resounding victory for its candidate, but the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the supreme court said Maduro won a third term.



Neither the communications ministry nor the attorney general's office responded immediately to requests for comment. Maduro's government has previously said that the U.N.'s fact-finding mission is a mechanism of aggression, and has insisted that Venezuela is a democracy governed by laws.