The Venezuelan NGO Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness warned this Monday about an increase in arrests carried out by agents subservient to the Nicolás Maduro dictatorship without official notification or immediate access to lawyers.
The organization noted that family members and advocates are unaware of the whereabouts and legal status of those arrested, which prevents them from exercising legal defense and leaves the detainees in a vulnerable situation.
According to the NGO's report via X, numerous cases have been registered in the last week in which the Chavista regime has not reported on the circumstances of the arrests or the places of detention.
JEP emphasized that a “pattern of short-term enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions” was established, as those searching for the detainees find themselves without official answers and without knowing how to proceed.
He warned that the reported situations constitute “ direct violations of fundamental rights ”, affecting the right to personal liberty, due process, physical integrity and family tranquility.
“Access to lawyers and trusted representatives has been denied, deepening a scenario of legal uncertainty and prolonged anguish due to state opacity,” the statement stressed.
The NGO demanded that the Chavista regime guarantee the"immediate and truthful" provision of information regarding the identity, whereabouts and legal status of all detainees, as well as reject obstacles to access to legal defense and communication with relatives.
The organization recalled that both the Venezuelan Constitution and international human rights treaties, signed by Venezuela, require respect for these guarantees.
As an example of the situation denounced, JEP and the NGO SurGentes detailed the arrest of four audiovisual workers last Friday while they were filming near the Tocorón prison in Aragua state, as part of a student project for the Central University of Venezuela.
Noel Cisneros, Katiuska Castillo Vásquez, Ingrid Briceño Venegas and Marcela Hernández Guerra remain incommunicado and their families do not know what condition they are in or where they are being held.
This case is part of a broader context of deteriorating procedural safeguards and increased pressure on journalists and media workers.
On Sunday, the family of journalist Joan Camargo filed a habeas corpus petition with the courts to find out his whereabouts, after 84 hours had passed since his disappearance in Caracas.
According to the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP), Camargo was intercepted by unknown individuals who forced him into a vehicle, and since then no official information has been released about his arrest.
For the family and the unions, the Camargo case is of additional gravity because, according to Venezuelan law, any habeas corpus must be resolved within a maximum of 96 hours.
“We reiterate our deep concern about the enforced disappearance of Joan,” said the SNTP, adding this case to a list of arbitrary detentions that already includes 23 journalists deprived of their liberty in the country.
The SNTP and the NGO Press and Society Institute (Ipys) denounced that the arrests of journalists are often accompanied by confiscations of equipment and work materials, raids without a court order and vague charges such as terrorism, incitement to hatred and criminal association.
The SNTP also indicated that in the operation against Camargo, not only was the journalist arrested, but his close relatives were also affected.
The climate of opacity and harassment is reflected in the recent bulletin from Foro Penal, which puts the total number of political prisoners in the country at 875, including opposition members, activists and ordinary citizens detained under accusations that NGOs and international bodies describe as arbitrary or fabricated.
While complaints from international observers and human rights defenders are growing, reports of short-term enforced disappearances persist in Venezuela, along with the dictatorship's refusal to guarantee even minimal information and access to legal defense, deepening the crisis of trust and legitimacy surrounding the regime's judicial and security system.
