Caracas Chronicles

• The latest report by Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela established by the UN’s Human Rights Council concluded that the Venezuelan justice system has had an essential role in human rights violations for years and in no way has counterbalanced the repression by the authoritarian regime. 
  • The report is over 200 pages, was presented in Geneva, and will be debated in the UN Human Rights Council next Thursday, and it denounces pressure by the government on judges to deny guarantees, to create obstacles for lawyers, and even threaten colleagues. 
  • The report concludes that Venezuela has “a justice system which lacks independence” and “perpetuates the severe violations of human rights of those who oppose the government.” 
  • Among the many irregularities they found, they documented the use of preemptive prison as a routine measure, judges issuing retroactive arrest warrants to hide illegal detentions, torture and threats and sippenhaft, the Nazi practice of jailing family members. 
  • The report highlights that there are reasons to believe that high-level politicians significantly influence the Judicial Branch. 

• The prosecutor general imposed by the extinct ANC Tarek William Saab called it “an alleged report by an ad hoc commission paid for by the Lima Group, attacking the Venezuelan justice system and our prosecutors.” 
  • He said that his ministry faces harassment (he didn’t say who did it) and that their integrity has been compromised. 
  • He said that “every time the country moves towards dialogue and the resolution of differences using the vote” evil people appear to try to harm the prosecutors. 

Maduro’s Assembly approved the partial reform of the Law of Criminal Procedure and the Penitentiary Code, which will allegedly influence the transformation of the justice system. Pedro Carreño assured that these reforms will end the problems in the system. 

• The president of the Venezuelan Teachers’ Federation Orlando Alzuru assured that the attendance of teachers on the first day of the 2021-2022 period was minimal. He said the whole sector knows the importance of returning to the classroom but under conditions and measures that guarantee life. 
  • Their figures reveal that only 378,000 people in the education sector have been vaccinated (45%) and suggested that the return to the classroom be done progressively, increasing biosafety measures, providing better public services and improving classrooms with better ventilation systems. 

• The Spanish Audiencia Nacional postponed the hearing to rule over the extradition of Adrián Velásquez, former bodyguard and chief of security of Hugo Chávez. The U.S. wants  Velásquez for being an accomplice to money laundering. 

Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal asked to give his testimony before the Spanish justice system to provide details on the relationship between ETA and FARC. 

• Former general Clíver Alcalá Cordones, in prison in the U.S. for drug trafficking charges, would be considering pleading guilty, according to documents Reuters obtained. 
• U.S. Ambassador James Story assured that the process against Saab is ongoing, despite the regime’s intentions to include him in the Mexico negotiation. 
• Josep Borrell said that potentially sending a delegation to observe the election in Venezuela will depend on the opposition’s role: “If the opposition runs in the election, united and wanting to compete, this could be a guarantee for them,” he said.