The SRFOE Warns of Ongoing Violations of Freedom of Expression in Venezuela and Calls on the International Community to Support the IACHR's Request for an On-Site Visit

December 29, 2025

Washington, DC—The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SEFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) warns of the continued violations of freedom of expression and of the press in Venezuela and calls on the international community to firmly support the IACHR’s request for State consent to conduct a on-site visit to the country, with a view to directly observing the human rights situation.

Since October 2025, the SRFOE has registered new reports of arbitrary detentions of journalists in Venezuela, including those of Yorbin García, detained in Valera, Trujillo state; Joan Camargo and Nicmer Evans, communicator and director of the media outlet Punto de Corte, in the city of Caracas, respectively; as well as José Serna, in the state of Zulia. Likewise, at the end of November 2025, the unjustified closure of the La Radio 93.7 FM station, located in the Carlos Soublette municipality of La Guaira state, was reported. This measure adds to other actions taken by the telecommunications regulatory authority that have resulted in the closure of media outlets and the blocking of their websites, severely restricting public access to plural and diverse information.

As previously noted, these events form part of a broader context of State repression and persecution in Venezuela following the July 2024 presidential elections, marked by arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, judicial harassment, censorship, and restrictions on the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. These patterns were identified and denounced by the IACHR in its most recent report "Venezuela: Serious Human Rights Violations in the Electoral Context."

In this context, in September 2025, the Inter-American Commission communicated to the international community its request for consent to carry out an on-site visit during the last quarter of 2025, with the aim of directly observing the human rights situation in the country, and in particular the conditions of persons deprived of liberty.

Pursuant to this request, the Special Rapporteurship announces its intention to visit the following detention centers as part of the delegation accompanying the IACHR: El Helicoide; the Anti-Drug Command of the Bolivarian National Guard; the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Police in Boleíta (Zone 7); the National Institute of Women's Orientation in Caracas; the El Rodeo, Rodeo II, Yare and Yare II prisons in Miranda; the center of Tocorón in Aragua; and the "La Cascada" detachment in Portuguesa. According to the information available, at least 20 journalists remain detained in these facilities for the legitimate exercise of their journalistic work.

It also expresses its interest in holding meetings with institutions that play a key role in guaranteeing the right to freedom of expression, including the Ministry of People's Power for Communication and Information (Mippci) and the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL), as well as with other relevant actors, such as journalists, academics, representatives of civil society organizations, and print, broadcast, and digital media outlets in Venezuela.

In this context, the SEGOE urgently calls on the international community to decisively support the IACHR's request for a visit to Venezuela and to urge the State to grant the corresponding consent.

Such a visit would enable the IACHR and its Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression to directly observe the human rights situation in the country, including freedom of expression; to hear from victims, State authorities, and civil society representatives; to identify patterns of violations; and to formulate concrete recommendations. This would constitute a key step in supporting the recovery of democracy and the rule of law.

The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression is a specialized office of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, established to promote the hemispheric protection of the right to freedom of thought and expression, in recognition of its fundamental role in the consolidation and development of democratic systems.

No. R284/25

11:46 AM