What is Repression Like in Venezuela?

Something I am particularly interested in is the effect of the political change in Venezuela on repression. We have scattered signs of protests happening and individuals saying they feel less threatened, but we also have the re-arrest of one prominent political prisoner and others who are not being released. There are so many questions. For example, is the government still monitoring those protests, keeping track of who participates? We know they routinely do that and colectivos later show up at people's doors to threaten them. Where are the colectivos right now? With no evidence, it does not reasonable to assume they just gave up the whole endeavor.

We don't have answers. My impression is that Venezuelans themselves don't know. Some are testing the waters to see what happens and only time will tell us more. But I recommend an article that Human Rights Watch just released. They call on the government to dismantle the repressive apparatus. Venezuelan repression is based on a wide variety of laws intended to criminalize all free speech.

These laws date back over 15 years and actually overlap. The 2014 Hate Law alone allows the government to criminalize practically anything. After the fraudulent 2024 presidential election, more laws were put in place just to remind Venezuelans they were not allowed to make any statements critical of the government, not even humorously.

What this means is that the government can unleash violence at any time. By this time, such violence is a natural reflex when people criticize the government and especially when they protest in the streets. It is entirely correct that no one can be truly safe until those laws are revoked. Interestingly, HRW says "amend or repeal" though I cannot imagine how these can be amended without remaining undemocratic. All countries need laws governing security but Venezuela should draft new ones, not use dictatorial remainders.