Venezuela's National Guard committed crimes against humanity.

11/12/2025 16:25

Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity over more than a decade in targeting political opponents, often with impunity, a U.N. Fact-Finding Mission found on Thursday.



The independent mission's latest report details GNB involvement in acts that may constitute crimes against humanity, including arbitrary detentions, sexual violence, and torture during protest crackdowns and targeted political persecution since 2014 under President Nicolas Maduro.



Victims were selected for perceived opposition to the government, the report stated.



"The facts we have documented show the role of the GNB in a pattern of systematic and coordinated repression against opponents or those perceived as such, which has continued for more than a decade," said Marta Valinas, head of the fact-finding mission.



The report comes as tensions have been rising for weeks between the Washington and Caracas, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly raising the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela to combat drug smuggling, which it calls "narco-terrorism".