The regime of Nicolas Maduro canceled the passports of dozens of people amid a suppression of dissenters in Venezuela stemming from the events of its presidential election in July.
At least 40 people, most of whom were journalists and human rights activists, had their passports canceled without explanation, according to claims made by the human rights group Laboratorio de Paz and cited in an article by the Financial Times. Laboratorio de Paz suggested that the number of passports canceled might be greater than 40 because that total did not include passports confiscated at Simón Bolívar International Airport.
Unlike previous reports of jailing and harassing those who protested the elections, the cancellation of passports is considered by many as a covert act of revenge by the Maduro regime for those suspected of protesting the election results. It’s easier to cancel passports, and it attracts less attention than tactics such as being jailed. Still, Laboratorio de Paz said it considers it a form of abuse by Maduro’s government.
“The government has found that passport cancellation is an effective way to neutralize and muffle critical voices with minimal effort,” Rafael Uzcategui, co-director of Laboratorio de Paz, told the Financial Times.
Venezuela’s presidential election occurred on July 28. After the election, both Maduro and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform, declared victory. Exit polls showed Gonzalez with a sizable lead. However, the National Electoral Council, Venezuela’s government agency in charge of elections and a Maduro regime ally, declared Maduro the winner. It is widely suspected that Maduro did not win the election.
Waves of protests engulfed the country for weeks, with many Venezuelans believing that Maduro cheated to remain in power. Gonzalez’s opposition party provided proof of his victory by showing voter tally sheets from the election. The Associated Press reported that voter tally sheets obtained by the opposition party showed Maduro received 2.7 million and Gonzalez received 6.2 million votes.
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Human Rights Watch identified “widespread human rights violations” of those who opposed the election results. It also suggested that the international community get involved and called “concerned governments to push for independent verification of the electoral results.” Human Rights Watch acknowledged the harsh treatment of protesters by the Maduro regime.
“The repression we are seeing in Venezuela is shockingly brutal,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Concerned governments need to take urgent steps to ensure that people are able to peacefully protest and that their vote is respected.”
