In response to Nicolas Maduro's inauguration in Venezuela following rigged presidential elections and months of brutal repression, interim president of Freedom House Gerardo Bertin issued a statement to the international community.
«Today's sham inauguration of Nicolas Maduro is the culmination of rigged elections organized to entrench the authoritarian rule of his regime. It will lead to the intensification of already systematic human rights violations. The brutal suppression of dissent and blatant disregard for the will of the Venezuelan people following the stolen July elections are unacceptable. Security forces are detaining political leaders and their family members, lawyers, election volunteers, journalists, human rights defenders, and protesters, including minors. The government has further narrowed the civic space by enacting a series of laws criminalizing the exercise of fundamental rights and establishing new and sophisticated mechanisms of social control. Given the documented practice of impunity for human rights violations by the regime for over a decade, including a sharp escalation of violations in recent days, there is no doubt that Maduro and his allies will use their absolute power to entrench state policies of repression, further erode fundamental rights and freedoms, prolong their unlawful rule, and deepen the humanitarian crisis in the country», stated Gerardo Bertin.
He called on the United States, other democratic countries in the region, and the international community to show solidarity with the Venezuelan people by increasing scrutiny of the human rights situation and intensifying international efforts to hold representatives of the Maduro regime accountable for human rights violations. «We urge democratic countries around the world to recognize democratic leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the legitimate winner of the presidential elections and reject Maduro's fraudulent claims of receiving a popular mandate», stated the president of Freedom House.
Today, Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated as president of Venezuela following serious election fraud on July 28, 2024. The National Electoral Council of Venezuela, composed of regime supporters, declared Maduro the winner but refused to publish the paper results of the electronic vote count. Since then, several countries in the region and the European Parliament have recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the legitimate winner of the elections, based on the vote count results published by the opposition and confirmed by independent observers.
After the vote, the Maduro regime intensified repression against civil society leaders and citizens who peacefully protested the announced results, leading to nearly 1,400 arrests and at least 24 deaths in the first weeks after the elections. Before the inauguration, authorities arrested prominent figures, including Carlos Correa, executive director of the public organization Espacio Público, Rafael Tudares, Gonzalez's brother-in-law, and Enrique Marquez, an opposition politician. The National Assembly, supported by Maduro, also passed numerous legislative acts that severely restrict civic space, including laws criminalizing human rights organizations and any alleged support for international sanctions against Venezuela.
On the day of the inauguration, the United States announced it would pay $25 million for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. American authorities accuse Maduro of involvement in drug smuggling. They had previously announced a reward for information leading to his arrest, but the amount was $15 million.
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