IACHR grants precautionary measures in favor of Aurora Carolina Silva and her two daughters in Venezuela

May 7, 2025

Washington, DC – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 38/2025 on May 4, 2025, to grant precautionary measures in favor of Aurora Carolina Silva Uzcátegui and her two daughters in Venezuela, in the belief that they face a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their rights to life and personal integrity.

According to the request for these precautionary measures, Silva Uzcátegui is being subjected to threats, harassment, and surveillance by officers of the State, in retaliation for her public complaints in defense of the rights of her husband, Freddy Francisco Superlano Salinas, who is currently deprived of liberty. The State failed to provide information to the IACHR on this issue.

After assessing the legal and factual allegations put forward by the party who requested these precautionary measures, the IACHR notes that the threats, intimidation, and harassment that the proposed beneficiaries have been subjected to, along with the constant presence of vehicles close to their home and the tracking of the beneficiaries' movements, have persisted over time and evidence risks that might materialize at any time, considering the current context in Venezuela.

Further, according to the request for these precautionary measures, the State has so far failed to adopt the measures that are required to ensure and protect the beneficiaries' rights, which means that they are totally unprotected.

Given these circumstances, the IACHR considers that Silva Uzcátegui and her two daughters face serious, urgent risks. Consequently, in keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR asked the State of Venezuela to take the following action:

1. Adopt any measures necessary to protect the rights to life and personal integrity of Silva Uzcátegui, A.I.S.S., and A.S.S.
2. Take any measures necessary to ensure that Silva Uzcátegui can continue to do her work in defense of human rights without being subjected to threats, harassment, or any other acts of violence for doing such work (in particular, the State needs both to ensure that its officers will respect the beneficiaries' rights and preserve their personal integrity—in compliance with the standards of international human rights law—and to protect those rights from dangerous acts that may be perpetrated by third parties)
3. Come to an agreement with the Silva Uzcátegui and her representatives concerning any measures that need to be taken
4. Report on any actions adopted to investigate the alleged events that gave rise to the adoption of these precautionary measures, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future

The fact that these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State of Venezuela do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the applicable instruments.

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. 091/25

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