IACHR issues follow-up, modification, and extension resolution about precautionary measures in favor of Franklin Caldera Cordero and his family in Venezuela

November 27, 2024

Washington, D.C. – On November 25, 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) adopted Follow-up, Modification, and Extension Resolution 87/2024, concerning Franklin Alfredo Caldera Cordero's situation in Venezuela. Caldera Cordero had been granted precautionary measures in 2023 (MC-409-23).

In Resolution 87/2024, the IACHR assessed the persistence of risks faced by human rights defender Caldera Cordero in Venezuela, which include death threats, harassment, and tracking. The IACHR noted that, following comments made by officials who said that Caldera Cordero had been involved in plans to attack Venezuela based on the fact that he had travelled abroad, the violence had extended to his family.

The information that was submitted to the IACHR indicated that Caldera Cordero's son Franklin Caldera Martínez, who was a Venezuelan Army lieutenant and is currently deprived of liberty, is allegedly being subjected to torture and inadequate conditions of detention, besides not getting the medical care he needs. Yuraima Martínez, Caldera Cordero's wife, is said to have also been subjected to threats and surveillance. The Commission therefore decided to extend precautionary measures to include them both.

The IACHR noted the State's failure to provide the information that had been requested and its failure to implement protection measures, which appear to leave the beneficiaries defenseless and vulnerable in Venezuela's current context.

After assessing the legal and factual allegations in this case, and in keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR found that Franklin Alfredo Caldera Cordero's rights continue to be at risk and that such risks also affect his wife, Yuraima Martínez, and their son Franklin Caldera Martínez. The IACHR therefore decided to take the following action:

Continue to monitor Caldera Cordero's situation
1. Extend precautionary measures in favor of Caldera Martínez (Caldera Cordero' son) and Yuraima Martínez
2. Change the scope of these precautionary measures and ask the State of Venezuela to take the following action:
   1. Adopt any measures necessary to protect the rights to life and personal integrity of Franklin Alfredo Caldera Cordero, Franklin Caldera Martínez, and Yuraima Martínez (in the case of Caldera Martínez, these measures also need to protect his right to health)
   2. Take all measures necessary to ensure that Caldera Cordero can continue to do his work in defense of human rights without suffering threats, intimidation, harassment, and other acts of violence for doing that work (in particular, the State should formally inform the beneficiary of any investigations that might be ongoing against him, including at least the following details: the events under investigation, the crimes he is suspected of having committed, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, and the judicial authority of competent jurisdiction in his case; the State should enable the beneficiary and his representatives to access his full criminal file, should that exist, and allow them to file any relevant appeals, as well as ensure that those appeals are adequately addressed)
   3. Implement any measures necessary to ensure that conditions of detention for Franklin Caldera Martínez (son) reflect the applicable international standards and include the following actions: (i) ensuring that he is not subjected to threats, intimidation, physical violence, or torture within penitentiary facilities; (ii) granting him access to adequate specialized medical care and to any necessary treatment and/or medication, and immediately conducting a comprehensive medical examination of his current health condition; and (iii) considering the option of granting him alternatives to deprivation of liberty, given that it is impossible to protect his rights in his current conditions of detention
   4. Come to an agreement with the beneficiaries and their representatives concerning any measures that need to be taken
   5. Report on any actions adopted to investigate the events that gave rise to the adoption and persistence of these precautionary measures, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future (in particular, the IACHR asks the State to investigate with due diligence the allegations of threats, torture, and other forms of violence against the beneficiaries, including those that may have been perpetrated by officials and/or officers of the State)

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 296/24

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