politics
May 6, 2026
The IACHR demands the release of detainees for political reasons in Venezuela before the OAS
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) denounced this Wednesday before the Organization of American States (OAS) the detention of people for political reasons in Venezuela and demanded their immediate release. "Democracy is not an ornament of the inter-American system, it is its condition of possibility and the arbitrary deprivation of liberty for political reasons is one of the most serious expressions of the collapse of the rule of law in Venezuela," denounced the executive secretary of the IACHR, Tania Reneaum, before the Permanent Council of the OAS.
TL;DR
- The IACHR denounced political detentions in Venezuela to the OAS and demanded immediate release of detainees.
- The IACHR stated that arbitrary deprivation of liberty for political reasons signifies a collapse of the rule of law in Venezuela.
- The OAS Secretary General urged Venezuelan authorities to unconditionally release all persons detained for political reasons.
- Concerns were raised about an amnesty law, with warnings that its provisions could be applied against opponents.
- Discrepancies exist between the number of amnesty beneficiaries reported by Venezuelan authorities and the number of individuals with full liberty.
- NGO Foro Penal reports 454 political prisoners in Venezuela, including 41 foreigners or dual nationals.