Pedro Lances Mati/Anadolu/Getty Images
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Venezuelan Central University UCV in Caracas on July 14, 2024.
CNN
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According to a human rights NGO, 71 cases of “arbitrary detention” were reported within days of the start of the campaign for Venezuela’s presidential elections.
According to a report by Laboratorio de Paz, 48 of those detained were people who had provided some kind of service to the campaign headquarters of opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia of the Democratic Unity Platform.
According to the report, all of the arrests took place between July 4 and 14, with most taking place in Tachira state. NGOs also reported 26 cases of harassment, 11 cases of travel obstruction, two cases of facility closures, and three cases of house searches.
The NGO said the figures were part of a “recurring pattern” of Venezuelans being “systematically” targeted for political reasons “at the national level,” and warned of fears such actions could increase as elections approach.
CNN has reached out to Venezuela’s Ministry of Public Prosecutor and the National Electoral Commission for comment.
Critics of President Nicolas Maduro’s government have long accused it of rigging votes and silencing the opposition, and a 2018 election that returned Maduro to power is said to be illegitimate by a coalition of 14 Latin American countries, Canada and the United States.
This time, two opposition candidates, Maria Corina Machado and Corina Lloris, were barred from running, despite President Maduro promising the United States that he would hold free and fair elections in exchange for easing sanctions.
The election is set to take place on July 28. Ten candidates are running, including incumbent Maduro, who is seeking re-election for another six years after 11 years in power.
Maduro’s main opponent is González Urrutia, who represents a coalition that brings together Venezuela’s main opposition parties and leaders.
Opposition campaign legal adviser Perkins Rocha said on Sunday that at least 11 people linked to the campaign headquarters were arrested over the weekend.
