The Venezuelan non-governmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal (FP) reported today that 1,953 people are being held for political reasons in Venezuela, the highest number recorded in the 21st century.
The NGO also indicated that, since last week, 19 new political arrests have been recorded in the country and that more than nine thousand people continue to be "arbitrarily subjected" to restrictions on their freedom.
"Statistics of political prisoners registered by the Penal Court in Venezuela: 1,953 political prisoners, of which 1,824 have been detained since July 29, 2024 [start of the post-presidential election protests]. We have registered and classified the largest number of political prisoners known in Venezuela, at least in the 21st century, and we continue to receive and register detainees," the NGO reported on the social network X.
According to the FP, among those detained, 1,711 are men and 242 are women, and 1,792 are civilians and 161 are military personnel, including 69 adolescents.
The NGO also specified that only the 148 detainees have been convicted by courts.
"Since 2014, 17,939 political arrests have been recorded in Venezuela. The FP has provided free assistance to more than 14,000 detainees who are now incarcerated and to other victims of human rights violations," the NGO said.
On October 20, hundreds of anti-regime protesters demonstrated in several countries to ask the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help children detained in Venezuela following the country's July 28 presidential elections.
The opposition party Vente Venezuela (VV), led by former MP María Corina Machado, said in a press release that demonstrations had taken place in 60 cities in countries including the United States, Spain, Sweden, Israel, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In Venezuela, there are frequent complaints from relatives of those detained during the post-election protests, saying that they have to travel hundreds of kilometers to try, often unsuccessfully, to visit their detained relatives.
On October 18, dozens of relatives of political prisoners protested in Caracas, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Penitentiary Services, to demand that the detainees be treated with dignity.
They complained that the detention conditions are deplorable, that they receive food in poor condition and that prison officials refuse to give food and personal hygiene items to the detainees.
Venezuela, a country with a significant community of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants, held presidential elections on 28 July, after which the National Electoral Council (CNE) attributed the victory to the country's current President, Nicolás Maduro, with just over 51% of the votes, while the opposition claims that its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, obtained almost 70% of the votes.
The Venezuelan opposition and many countries have denounced electoral fraud and demanded that the voting records be presented for independent verification.
The election results have been contested in the streets, with demonstrations repressed by security forces, with the authorities recording more than 2,400 arrests, 27 deaths and 192 injuries.
The Caracas regime says a coup d'état is underway, keeping thousands of police and soldiers on the streets to control the protesters, and has asked the population to anonymously and through the VenAPP application, denounce those promoting the protests.
