The release of political prisoners is an urgent humanitarian measure in response to the human rights crisis in Venezuela 

Freedom also saves lives

We, the families of those detained for political reasons, human rights organizations, and civil society organizations that have signed this statement, urgently call on the national and international community to ensure that the protection of human life and dignity takes center stage in the response to the serious crisis Venezuela is facing. 

The recent earthquakes exacerbated a preexisting emergency. They did not create the crisis; rather, they once again laid bare the consequences of years of institutional weakening and systematic human rights violations. No humanitarian response will be complete as long as the people whose lives depend entirely on the protection of the State – including hundreds of political prisoners held in conditions that seriously endanger their safety and lives – remain invisible. 

Persons deprived of their liberty are under the exclusive custody of the Venezuelan State, which has a legal obligation to guarantee their life, personal integrity, health, and safety. When there are reports of inhumane detention conditions, compromised infrastructure, a lack of emergency protocols, restrictions on visits, and lack of independent oversight, freedom ceases to be merely a legal claim and becomes an urgent measure of humanitarian protection and risk management. 

The situation of political prisoners remains critical. Despite official narratives, arbitrary detentions, restrictions on due process, solitary confinement, short-term enforced disappearances, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and limitations on contact with family members and attorneys persist. Hundreds of people continue to be used as instruments of political pressure, arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and subjected to conditions incompatible with human dignity. Among them are women and people with serious illnesses, whose situation requires immediate and priority attention. 

Political prisoners remain scattered across various detention centers and state security facilities, including El Rodeo I, Guaicaipuro, Yare, the INOF, La Crisálida, and various police holding cells – all of which have been the subject of serious allegations of human rights violations. At El Rodeo I, structural risks persist due to cracks in concrete bunks and other areas of the cells, where detainees sleep in fear of possible collapses following the recent earthquakes, given the absence of independent technical assessments. Compounding this, detainees held there have suffered two violent and unjustified assaults so far this year, used as a means of coercion. At Guaicaipuro, detention conditions continue to fall short of international standards: those held there are suffering from hunger, with no public information available regarding their actual situation. Prolonging their detention under these circumstances unnecessarily increases the risk to their lives. 

We acknowledge and support the decisive and sustained efforts of the families of political prisoners, who have been living in a freedom encampment for 195 days, peacefully demanding an end to the arbitrary detention of their loved ones. Their efforts have not ceased despite the opacity and institutional violence prevailing in the country, and they have continued to exhaust all available domestic legal avenues in search of answers and justice. 

We condemn the statements, intimidation, and verbal attacks made by Julio García Zerpa, Minister of Popular Power for the Penitentiary Service, during his meeting with relatives of political prisoners on Monday, July 13. His remarks constitute a form of revictimization against those who peacefully demand information, justice, and protection for their loved ones, and they discredit the legitimate work of human rights organizations, discouraging the reporting of potential violations. 

We also recall that the responsibility for protecting persons deprived of liberty extends beyond the actions of the Ministry for Penitentiary Services. As the highest-ranking interim authority within the National Executive, Delcy Rodríguez has the political and institutional responsibility to ensure that all bodies under the Executive Branch’s direction act in accordance with the Constitution, respect human rights, and adopt the necessary measures to protect the lives and integrity of those who remain in State custody. The response to this crisis cannot be limited to speeches or denials: it demands immediate decisions aimed at preventing irreparable harm.  

We observe with concern that releases under precautionary measures continue to be presented as if they were definitive solutions. The imposition of mandatory periodic check-ins, bans on leaving the country, and other arbitrary restrictions prolongs the punishment, keeps victims under the constant control of a judicial system lacking independence, and perpetuates the economic, family, and psychological effects of the persecution. Compounding this situation is an additional form of revictimization by the State: repeated announcements of releases that are not fulfilled and selective releases carried out without presenting an official and verifiable list of the number of people actually released. This underscores the lack of political will to truly set the country on a new course. 

The humanitarian emergency Venezuela is facing cannot be used as an excuse to sideline the human rights agenda. On the contrary, it confirms that the protection of life depends on the restoration of constitutional guarantees, the proper functioning of institutions, and unrestricted respect for fundamental rights. In this context, we express our solidarity with and support for the direct and indirect victims of the earthquake and the humanitarian emergency the country is facing, as well as for their families and affected communities. Defending human rights does not politicize a tragedy: it helps protect people’s dignity, provide assistance to those who need it most, and prevent this situation from deepening further. The freedom of those arbitrarily detained and released under restrictive measures must be a priority on the public agenda. The path to transition in Venezuela cannot begin while even a single person remains detained for political reasons. 

We therefore demand that the Venezuelan State: 

1. Immediately adopt all necessary measures to protect the life, personal integrity, and health of those deprived of their liberty for political reasons. 

2. Grant full and unconditional freedom to all persons arbitrarily detained for political reasons, as an urgent humanitarian protection measure. 

3. Guarantee full freedom to those released from prison but who remain subject to precautionary measures restricting their liberty, and dismiss the cases against those who have been excluded from the application of the Amnesty Law. Until the corresponding judicial decisions are issued, it must be ensured that compliance with the reporting requirements takes place within the judicial districts of their respective states.  

4. Allow for a technical, independent, and transparent technical assessment of the infrastructure of detention centers that may have been affected by the recent earthquakes. Authorize the immediate entry of independent international human rights protection and humanitarian assistance mechanisms – among them the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), United Nations officials, and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela – to verify detention conditions and the health status of detainees. 

5. Guarantee regular access for family members and lawyers, timely medical care, and public and transparent information regarding conditions in detention centers. 

6. Permanently close facilities where torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment is practiced, through an independent process or verification, and ensure independent investigations into existing allegations. Furthermore, dismantle the structures and bodies created or used outside the framework of the Constitution to persecute and repress dissent. 

7. Restore judicial independence, cease the use of the criminal justice system as a mechanism for political persecution, and fully guarantee due process. 

There can be no exceptions to the protection of life. Those who remain in State custody have the right to return alive to their families. Today, more than ever, the release of individuals deprived of their liberty for political reasons is an urgent humanitarian protection measure. 

Freedom also saves lives.  

#LibertadEsHumanidad  

Signed, 

Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners in Venezuela (CLIPPVE) 

Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón 

Acceso a la Justicia 

Venezuelan Program for Education-Action on Human Rights (PROVEA) 

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) 

Consorcio Justicia (CJ) 

Foro Penal Venezolano 

Defiende Venezuela 

Laboratorio de Paz 

Voces de la Memoria 

Un Mundo Sin Mordaza 

Amnesty International 

Caleidoscopio Humano 

CIVILIS 

Center for Justice and Peace (CEPAZ) 

FundaREDES 

Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) 

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) 

Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) 

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights 

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect