page_title: Torture in Venezuela
section_title: Bolivarian Revolution
hierarchical_section_title: Torture in Venezuela / Bolivarian Revolution
caption_attribution_description: English: SEBIN headquarters, also know as "La Tumba" in Caracas, Venezuela.
context_page_description: Torture in Venezuela has been a controversial issue in recent years, especially during the crisis in Venezuela. The United Nations, Organization of American States, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Foro Penal have denounced acts of violence and torture towards those who oppose the Bolivarian government.
  State institutions such as the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service have been accused of torturing opponents of the Bolivarian government.
context_section_description: Under the Bolivarian governments, levels of torture occurred that had not been seen since the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.  Following the election of Hugo Chávez, human rights in Venezuela deteriorated. According to Universidad Metropolitana in 2006, "the inquisitorial process" that was abolished in the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence returned to Venezuela. By 2009, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released a report stating that Venezuela's government practiced "repression and intolerance".
  During the presidency of Nicolás Maduro, torture in Venezuela increased. In La Tumba (The Tomb), one of the headquarters and prisons of SEBIN, has been used for white torture and some of its prisoners have attempted suicide. Conditions in La Tumba have resulted with prisoner illnesses, though Venezuelan authorities refuse to medically treat those imprisoned. Bright lights are continuously left on and prison cells are set at near-freezing temperatures.
  In December 2014, the United States signed Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 to impose targeted sanctions on Venezuelan individuals responsible for human rights violations as a result of the 2014 Venezuelan protests. The law allows the freezing of assets and visa bans for those accused of using acts of violence or violating the human rights of those opposing the Venezuelan government. In March 2015, the United States froze assets and revoked visas of several senior officials connected to human rights abuses in Venezuela; these sanctions were condemned in Latin America.
  In November 2014, Venezuela appeared before the United Nations Committee Against Torture over cases between 2002 and 2014, which criticized the Venezuelan National Commission for the Prevention of Torture for being biased in favor towards the Bolivarian government. The Committee had also expressed concern with "beatings, burnings and electric shocks in efforts to obtain confessions" that occurred during the 2014 Venezuelan protests and that of the 185 investigations for abuses during the protests, only 5 individuals had been charged. United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Méndez stated on 11 March 2015 that Venezuela had ignored requests for information and that he had made "conclusions based on the lack of response" and "concluded that the government violated the rights of prisoners", further saying that the Maduro government failed "with the obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".
  During the 2017 Venezuelan protests, more than 290 cases of torture and thousands of extrajudicial executions were documented by the Organization of American States.
caption: La Tumba (The Tomb), a SEBIN prison where many prisoners have been tortured
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