Torture cases in Venezuela increased by 148% in 2021

The NGO Programa Venezolano de Educación Acción en Derechos Humanos (Provea) reported on Wednesday that cases of torture in the country increased 148% between January and December 2021 compared to 2020.

"Between the months of January and December 2021, Provea recorded a total of 241 torture victims, an increase of 148.4% over the number of victims reported in 2020, and the second-highest recorded in the last 33 years," said the organization in the 33rd edition of its Annual Report on the Human Rights Situation in Venezuela.

"The increase in abuse techniques based on the humiliation and physical and psychological reduction of victims, through sexual aggression, is of particular concern," the report added. 

The Scientific, Criminal, and Penal Investigations Corps (CICPC) was identified as responsible for 155 complaints of torture—with an equal number of victims. They are accused of 64.3% of the total number of complaints registered in 2021.

"The various actions taken in the field of justice to evade the action of the International Criminal Court were unsuccessful and confirmed that the Venezuelan State lacks the genuine will to investigate and punish those responsible for the crimes committed in accordance with the principles of the Rome Statute," the report adds.

Regarding extrajudicial executions, the NGO documented that "the police and military forces killed 1,414 people throughout the country."

"The State continues to breach national and international norms on the differentiated and progressive use of force, ignoring the obligation not to cause arbitrary deprivations of life," warns Provea.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, announced last November that an investigation would be opened into the possible crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela. This is the first decision of this nature to be issued in the continent.