The situation in Venezuela represents one of the biggest challenges to democracy and human rights in the Americas, with the Venezuelan security forces and armed pro-government groups responsible for grave human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.
Image: A crowd carrying flags and blowing whistles gathers in an anti-government demonstration. November 16, 2019. Caracas, Venezuela. AP Images/Matias Delacroix. Caracas, May 18th, 2022 The individuals and civil society organizations subscribing to this statement...
On May 3, WOLA Director for Venezuela Geoff Ramsey was featured in a Q&A in the Inter-American Dialogue’s Latin America Advisor, along with Maria Eugenia Vidal and Beatrice Rangel, on the recent remarks by Argentine President Alberto Fernández regarding Argentina’s diplomatic relationship with the Maduro government
On April 27, a group of 19 Venezuelan and international organizations including WOLA issued a letter to President of Argentina Alberto Fernández to express concern over the situation of human rights defender Javier Tarazona, who has been arbitrarily detained for several months.
On March 31, upon concluding a three-day trip to Caracas, International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that the ICC would open an office in Venezuela as it advances the investigation it began last year into human rights violations committed by Venezuelan authorities and government supporters since 2017.
The undersigned human rights organizations welcome the recent announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim A.A. Khan, on the establishment of a decentralized office of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office in Caracas, and the declaration that the Office will work jointly with important international allies.
On April 5, 2022, a meeting took place between members of the Venezuelan government and members of various civil society organizations, with the objective of presenting an agenda of citizens’ demands that have been comprised through social dialogue, conversations between organizations and citizens, and consultations with leadership from across the political spectrum.
As Venezuela’s economic, humanitarian and political crisis has dragged on, the number of people fleeing Venezuela has continued to rise. Over 6 million Venezuelans, or approximately 20 percent of Venezuela’s population, have fled the country, making it the largest international displacement in the hemisphere’s history.
On Thursday, March 31, The Quincy Institute’s Responsible Statecraft published an op-ed by WOLA Director for Venezuela Geoff Ramsey and WOLA Senior Fellow and Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University David Smilde.
On Saturday, March 19, El País published an op-ed by Geoff Ramsey, WOLA Director for Venezuela, and David Smilde, WOLA Senior Fellow and Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University, in which they argue that the recent visit of U.S. officials to Caracas represents an important opportunity