ProtectDefenders.eu has received with deep concern information on the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of Mr. Carlos Correa, one of Venezuela’s most emblematic and renowned human rights defenders and director of the NGO Espacio Público. Through the work of this NGO, he has been active in the promotion and defense of freedom of expression and the right to information in Venezuela.
He was intercepted by hooded officials on January 7, 2025, and from that moment his whereabouts are unknown. It is highly likely that the defender was arbitrarily detained and victim of enforced disappearance.
Since the July elections, the Venezuelan authorities have escalated attacks and acts of persecution against human rights defenders and social and political leaders. As part of this crackdown, we have been informed about the the adoption and implementation of two restrictive legal instruments, namely the « Law on the Control, Regularization, Action and Financing of Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Organizations without Purposes of Care. » and the « Organic Law Liberator Simón Bolívar Against the Imperialist Blockade and in Defense of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. »
Both these laws are a grave attempt to freedom of association and the rights to defend human rights. The Control Act, in particular, since its submission in January 2023, had been identified by international organizations and civil society organizations, as an instrument that threatens the free action and independence of organizations in the country. It subjects them to various authoritarian mechanisms, and could lead to possible acts of persecution, imposition of fines, cancellation of searches and even the possibility of criminal charges against organizations and their members.
ProtectDefenders.eu has also received information on the worrying state of freedom of the press in Venezuela. Consortium member RSF, together with other eights partner organisations, has recently released a new report, “Restrictions on press freedom and media suffocation in the electoral context in Venezuela ». Their report found over 228 violations of press freedom, and at least eight journalists remain arbitrarily imprisoned.
Venezuela is ranked 156th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
