In 2014, a series of protests, political demonstrations, and civil insurrection began in Venezuela due to the country's high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods and services.[24][25][26] Explanations for these worsening conditions vary[27] with analysis blaming strict price controls[28][29] and long-term, widespread political corruption resulting in the under-funding of basic government services.[30] While protests occurred in January, after the murder of actress and former Miss Venezuela Mónica Spear,[31][32] the 2014 protests began in earnest that February following the attempted rape of a student[33] on a university campus in San Cristóbal. Subsequent arrests and killings of student protesters spurred their expansion to neighboring cities and the involvement of opposition leaders.[34][35] The year's early months were characterized by large demonstrations and violent clashes between protesters and government forces that resulted in nearly 4,000 arrests and 43 deaths,[8][9][21] including both supporters and opponents of the government.[36] Toward the end of 2014, and into 2015, continued shortages and low oil prices caused renewed protesting.[37]
| Venezuelan protests (2014–present) | |||
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.jpg/440px-2014_Venezuelan_Protests_(12F).jpg)  .jpg/440px-Liberty_12_February_2015_Venezuelan_protest_(cropped).jpg) .jpg/440px-Venezuela_protest_26_October_(size_diff).jpg)  Images from top to bottom and from left to right:
Opposition march in Caracas on 12 February 2014, Protesters perched on a statue of Simón Bolívar in May 2014, A woman wearing a banner reading Never Forget on the first anniversary of protests on 12 February 2015, Millions marching in Caracas on 26 October 2016, The Mother of All Marches on 19 April 2017. | |||
| Date | 12 February 2014 – ongoing (7 years, 3 months, 2 weeks and 6 days) | ||
| Location | Venezuela, worldwide | ||
| Status | Ongoing | ||
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Vente Venezuela 
Justice First 
Government of VenezuelaBy 2016, protests occurred following the controversy surrounding the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary elections as well as the incidents surrounding the 2016 recall referendum. On 1 September 2016, the largest demonstration of the protests occurred, with over 1 million Venezuelans, or over 3% of the entire nation's population, gathered to demand a recall election against President Maduro, with the event being described as the "largest demonstration in the history of Venezuela".[4] Following the suspension of the recall referendum by the government-leaning National Electoral Council (CNE) on 21 October 2016, the opposition organized another protest which was held on 26 October 2016, with over 1.2 million Venezuelans participating.[38] After some of the largest protests occurred in a late-2016, Vatican-mediated dialogue between the opposition and government was attempted and ultimately failed in January 2017.[39][40] Concentration on protests subsided in the first months of 2017 until the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis occurred when the pro-government Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela attempted to assume the powers of the opposition-led National Assembly and removed their immunity, though the move was reversed days later, demonstrations grew "into the most combative since a wave of unrest in 2014".[41][42][43][44]
During the 2017 Venezuelan protests, the Mother of all Protests involved from 2.5 million to 6 million protesters. The 2019 protests began in early January after the National Assembly declared the May 2018 presidential elections invalid and declared Juan Guaidó acting president, resulting in a presidential crisis. The majority of protests have been peaceful, consisting of demonstrations, sit-ins, and hunger strikes,[45][46] although small groups of protesters have been responsible for attacks on public property, such as government buildings and public transportation. Erecting improvised street barricades, dubbed guarimbas, were a controversial form of protest in 2014.[47][48][49][50] Though initially protests were mainly performed by the middle and upper classes,[51] lower class Venezuelans quickly became involved as the situation in Venezuela deteriorated.[52] Nicolas Maduro's government characterized the protests as an undemocratic coup d'etat attempt[53] orchestrated by "fascist" opposition leaders and the United States;[54] blaming capitalism and speculation for causing high inflation rates and goods scarcities as part of an "economic war" being waged on his government.[55][56] Although Maduro, a former trade union leader, says he supports peaceful protesting,[57] the Venezuelan government has been widely condemned for its handling of the protests. Venezuelan authorities have reportedly gone beyond the use of rubber pellets and tear gas to instances of live ammunition use and torture of arrested protesters, according to organizations like Amnesty International[58] and Human Rights Watch,[59] while the United Nations[60][61][62] has accused the Venezuelan government of politically motivated arrests, most notably former Chacao mayor and leader of Popular Will, Leopoldo Lopez, who has used the controversial charges of murder and inciting violence against him to protest the government's "criminalization of dissent."[63][64] Other controversies reported during the protests include media censorship and violence by pro-government militant groups known as colectivos.
On 27 September 2018, the United States government declared new sanctions on individuals in Venezuelan government. They included Maduro's wife Cilia Flores, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, Minister of Communications Jorge Rodriguez and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.[65] On 27 September 2018, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution for the first time on human rights abuses in Venezuela.[66] 11 Latin American countries proposed the resolution including Mexico, Canada and Argentina.[67] On 23 January 2019, El Tiempo revealed a protest count, showing over 50,000 registered protests in Venezuela since 2013.[68]
Background
Bolivarian Revolution
Venezuela was headed by a series of right-wing governments for years. In 1992, Hugo Chávez formed a group named Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 aiming to take over the government, and attempted a coup d'état.[69][70] Later, another coup was performed while Chávez was in prison. Both coup attempts failed and fighting resulted in around 143–300 deaths.[70] Chávez, after receiving a pardon from president Rafael Caldera, later decided to participate in elections and formed the Movement for the Fifth Republic (MVR) party. He won the 1998 Venezuelan presidential elections. The changes started by Chávez were named the Bolivarian Revolution.
Chávez, an anti-American politician who declared himself a democratic socialist, enacted a series of social reforms aimed at improving quality of life. According to the World Bank, Chávez's social measures reduced poverty from about 49% in 1998 to about 25%. From 1999 to 2012, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), shows that Venezuela achieved the second highest rate of poverty reduction in the region.[71] The World Bank also explained that Venezuela's economy is "extremely vulnerable" to changes in oil prices since in 2012 "96% of the country’s exports and nearly half of its fiscal revenue" relied on oil production. In 1998, a year before Chávez took office, oil was only 77% of Venezuela's exports.[72][73] Under the Chávez government, from 1999 to 2011, monthly inflation rates were high compared to world standards, but were lower than that from 1991 to 1998.[74]
While Chávez was in office, his government was accused of corruption, abuse of the economy for personal gain, propaganda, buying the loyalty of the military, officials involved in drug trade, assisting terrorists such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, intimidation of the media, and human rights abuses of its citizens.[75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84] Government price controls put in place in 2002 which initially aimed for reducing the prices of basic goods have caused economic problems such as inflation and shortages of basic goods.[85] The murder rate under Chávez's administration also quadrupled during his terms in office leaving Venezuela as one of the most violent countries in the world.[86]
On 5 March 2013, Chávez died of cancer and Nicolás Maduro, who was vice president at the time, took Chávez's place.[87] Throughout the year 2013 and into the year 2014, worries about the troubled economy, increasing crime and corruption increased, which led to the start of anti-government protests.
First demonstrations of 2014
Demonstrations against violence in Venezuela began in January 2014,[31] and continued, when former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles shook the hand of President Maduro;[32] this "gesture... cost him support and helped propel" opposition leader Leopoldo López Mendoza to the forefront.[32] According to the Associated Press, well before protests began in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas, the attempted rape of a young student on a university campus in San Cristóbal, in the western border state of Táchira, led to protests from students "outraged" at "long-standing complaints about deteriorating security under President Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez. But what really set them off was the harsh police response to their initial protest, in which several students were detained and allegedly abused, as well as follow-up demonstrations to call for their release". These protests expanded, attracted non-students, and led to more detentions; eventually, other students joined, and the protests spread to Caracas and other cities, with opposition leaders getting involved.[34]
Leopoldo López, a leading figure in the opposition to the government, began leading protests shortly thereafter.[88] During events surrounding the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Lopez "orchestrated the public protests against Chávez and he played a central role in the citizen's arrest of Chavez's interior minister", Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, though he later tried to distance himself from the event.[89]
Corruption
Source:Transparency International Archived 9 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine
In a 2014 survey by Gallup, nearly 75% of Venezuelans believe corruption is widespread in their government.[90] Leopoldo López has said, "We are fighting a very corrupt authoritarian government that uses all the power, all the money, all the media, all the laws, all the judicial system in order to maintain control."[91]
Corruption in Venezuela is ranked high by world standards. Corruption is difficult to measure reliably, but one well-known measure is the Corruption Perceptions Index, produced annually by a Berlin-based NGO, Transparency International (TNI). Venezuela has been one of the most corrupt countries in TNI surveys since they started in 1995, ranking 38th out of 41 that year[92] and performing very poorly in subsequent years. In 2008, for example, it was 158th out of 180 countries in 2008, the worst in the Americas except Haiti,[93] in 2012, it was one of the 10 most corrupt countries on the index, tying with Burundi, Chad, and Haiti for 165th place out of 176.[94] TNI public opinion data says that most Venezuelans believe the government's effort against corruption is ineffective, that corruption has increased and that government institutions such as the judicial system, parliament, legislature and police are the most corrupt.[95] According to TNI, Venezuela is currently the 18th most corrupt country in the world (160 of 177) and its judicial system has been deemed the most corrupt in the world.[96]
The World Justice Project moreover, ranked Venezuela's government in 99th place worldwide and gave it the worst ranking of any country in Latin America in the 2014 Rule of Law Index.[97] The report says, "Venezuela is the country with the poorest performance of all countries analyzed, showing decreasing trends in the performance of many areas in relation to last year. The country ranks last in the surrender of accounts by the government due to an increasing concentration of executive power and a weakened checks and balances." The report further states that "administrative bodies suffer inefficiencies and lack of transparency…and the judicial system, although relatively accessible, lost positions due to increasing political interference. Another area of concern is the increase in crime and violence, and violations of fundamental rights, particularly the right to freedom of opinion and expression."[83]
Economic problems
According to the 2013 Global Misery Index Scores, Venezuela was ranked as the top spot globally with the highest misery index score.[98] In data provided by the CIA, Venezuela had the second highest inflation rate (56.20%) in the world for 2013, only behind the war-torn Syria.[99] The money supply of the Bolivar Fuerte in Venezuela also continues to accelerate, possibly helping to fuel more inflation.[100] The Venezuelan government's economic policies, including strict Price controls, led to one of the highest inflation rates in the world with "sporadic hyperinflation",[85] and have caused severe shortages of food and other basic goods.[29] Such policies created by the Venezuelan government have hurt businesses and led to shortages, long queues, and looting.[101]
The Heritage Foundation, a US-based conservative advocacy group, ranked Venezuela at 175 of 178 in economic freedom and was classified as a "Repressed" economy in its 2014 Index of Economic Freedom report.[102] More than half of those interviewed in a Datos survey held the Maduro government responsible for the country's current economic situation and most thought the country's economic situation would be worse or just as bad in the next 6 months of 2014.[103][104][105] President Maduro has blamed the economic troubles on an alleged "economic war" being waged against his government; specifically, he has placed blame on capitalism and speculation.[56]
An Associated Press report in February 2014 noted that “legions of the sick across the country” were being “neglected by a health care system doctors say is collapsing after years of deterioration.” Doctors said it was impossible “to know how many have died, and the government doesn't keep such numbers, just as it hasn't published health statistics since 2010.” Health Minister Isabel Iturria refused to give the AP an interview, while a deputy health minister, Nimeny Gutierrez, “denied on state TV that the system is in crisis.”[106]
Violent crime
In Venezuela, a person is murdered every 21 minutes.[107][108] In the first two months of 2014, nearly 3,000 people were murdered – 10% more than in the previous year and 500% higher than when Hugo Chávez first took office.[109] In 2014, Quartz claimed that the high murder rate was due to Venezuela's “ growing poverty rate; rampant corruption; high levels of gun ownership; and a failure to punish murderers (91% of the murders go unpunished, according to the Institute for Research on Coexistence and Citizen Security).”[109] InsightCrime attributed the escalating violence to "high levels of corruption, a lack of investment in the police force and weak gun control."[31]
Following the January killing of actress and former Miss Venezuela Mónica Spear and her ex-husband in a roadside robbery in the presence of their five-year-old daughter, who herself was shot in the leg,[31] Venezuela was described by Channel 4 as “one of the most dangerous countries in the world,” [31] a country “where crime escalated during the administration of former President Hugo Chávez and killings are common in armed robberies.”[31] The Venezuelan Violence Observatory said in March 2014 the country's murder rate was now nearly 80 deaths per 100,000 people, while government statistics put it at 39 deaths per 100,000.[110] The number of those murdered during the previous decade was comparable to the death rate in Iraq during the Iraq War; during some periods, Venezuela had a higher rate of civilian deaths than Iraq, even though the country was at peace.[111] Crime had also affected the economy, according to Jorge Roig, president of the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce, who said that many foreign business executives were too scared to travel to Venezuela and that many owners of Venezuelan companies live abroad, with the companies producing less as a result.[112]
The opposition says that crime is the government's fault "for being soft on crime, for politicizing and corrupting institutions such as the judiciary, and for glorifying violence in public discourse," while the government says that "capitalist evils" are to blame, such as drug trafficking and violence in the media.[113]
The United States State Department and the Government of Canada have warned foreign visitors that they may be subjected to robbery, kidnapping for a ransom, or sale to terrorist organizations and murder.[114][115] The United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all travel within 80 km (50 miles) of the Colombian border in the states of Zulia, Táchira, and Apure.[116]
Elections
On 14 April 2013, Nicolas Maduro won the presidential election with 50.6% of the vote, ahead of the 49.1% of candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski, surprisingly close compared to previous polls.[117] Opposition leaders made accusations of fraud shortly after the election[118] and Capriles refused to accept the results, alleging that voters had been coerced to vote for Maduro and claiming election irregularities. The National Electoral Council (CNE), which conducted a post-election audit of a random selection of 54% of the votes, comparing electronic records with paper ballots, claimed to find nothing suspicious.[119][120] Capriles initially called for an audit of the remaining 46% of the votes, asserting that this would show that he had won the election. The CNE agreed to carry out an audit, and planned to do so in May.[119][120] Later Capriles changed his mind, adding demands for a full audit of the electoral registry, and calling the audit process “a joke”.[119] Before the government agreed to a full audit of the vote, there were public protests by opponents of Maduro. The crowds were ultimately dispersed by National Guard members using tear gas and rubber bullets.[121] President Maduro responded to the protests by saying, “If you want to try to oust us through a coup, the people and the armed forces will be waiting for you.” [122] The clashes resulted in 7 people killed and dozens injured. President Maduro described the protests as a "coup" attempt, and blamed the United States for them. Finally, Capriles told protesters to stop and not play the "government's game," so there would be no more deaths.[123] On 12 June 2013 the results of the partial audit were announced. The CNE certified the initial results and confirmed Maduro's electoral victory.[124]
The opposition's defeat in the 8 December 2013 municipal elections,[125] which it had framed as a 'plebiscite' on Maduro's presidency,[126] ignited an internal debate over strategy. Moderate opposition leaders Henrique Capriles and Henri Falcón argued for 'unity' and dialogue with the government, and attended meetings held by the President to discuss cooperation among the country's mayors and governors.[127][128][129] Other opposition leaders, such as Leopoldo López and Marina Corina Machado, opposed dialogue[130] and called for a new strategy to force an immediate change in the government.[131][132]
Protest violence
"Colectivos"
Militant groups known as "colectivos" attacked protesters and opposition TV staff, sent death threats to journalists, and tear-gassed the Vatican envoy after Hugo Chávez accused these groups of intervening with his government. Colectivos helped assist the government during the protests.[136] Human Rights Watch said that "the government of Venezuela has tolerated and promoted groups of armed civilians," which HRW claims have "intimidated protesters and initiated violent incidents".[137] Socialist International also condemned the impunity that irregular groups have had while attacking protesters.[138] President Maduro has thanked certain groups of motorcyclists for their help against what he views as a "fascist coup d'etat... being waged by the extreme right", but also distanced himself from armed groups, stating that they "had no place in the revolution".[139] On a later occasion, President Maduro issued a condemnation of all violent groups and said a government supporter would go to jail if he performed a crime, just as an opposition supporter would. He said that someone who is violent has no place as a government supporter and thus should leave the pro-government movement immediately.[140]
Some "colectivos" have acted violently against the opposition without impediment from Venezuelan government forces.[141] Vice President of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza, praised colectivos saying, "If there has been exemplary behavior it has been the behavior of the motorcycle colectivos that are with the Bolivarian revolution."[142] However, on 28 March 2014, Arreaza promised that the government would disarm all irregular armed groups in Venezuela.[143] Colectivos have also been called a "fundamental pillar in the defense of the homeland" by the Venezuelan Prison Minister, Iris Varela.[144][145]
Human Rights Watch reported that government forces "repeatedly allowed" colectivos "to attack protesters, journalists, students, or people they believed to be opponents of the government with security forces just meters away" and that "in some cases, the security forces openly collaborated with the pro-government attackers". Human Rights Watch also stated that they "found compelling evidence of uniformed security forces and pro-government gangs attacking protesters side by side. One report said that government forces aided pro-government civilians that shot protesters with live ammunition.[59]
President Nicolas Maduro [59]
Human Rights Watch stated that "Despite credible evidence of crimes carried out by these armed pro-government gangs, high-ranking officials called directly on groups to confront protesters through speeches, interviews, and tweets", further noting that President Nicolas Maduro "on multiple occasions called on civilian groups loyal to the government to 'extinguish the flame' of what he characterized as 'fascist' protesters".[59] The governor of the state of Carabobo, Francisco Ameliach, called on Units of Battle Hugo Chávez (UBCh), a government created civilian group that according to the government is a “tool of the people to defend its conquests, to continue fighting for the expansion of the Venezuelan Revolution”. In a tweet, Ameliach asked UBCh to launch a rapid counterattack against protesters saying, "Gringos (Americans) and fascists beware" and that the order would come from the President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello.[59][146][147][148]
Government forces
Government authorities have used "unlawful force against unarmed protesters and other people in the vicinity of demonstrations". Government agencies involved in the use of unlawful force include the National Guard, the National Police, the Guard of the People, and other government agencies. Some common abuses included "severely beating unarmed individuals, firing live ammunition, rubber bullets, and teargas canisters indiscriminately into crowds, and firing rubber bullets deliberately, at point-blank range, at unarmed individuals, including, in some cases, individuals already in custody". Human Rights Watch said that "Venezuelan security forces repeatedly resorted to force—including lethal force—in situations in which it was wholly unjustified" and that "the use of force occurred in the context of protests that were peaceful, according to victims, eyewitnesses, lawyers, and journalists, who in many instances shared video footage and photographs corroborating their accounts".[59]
Use of firearms
Government forces have used firearms to control protests.[150] Amnesty International reported that they had "received reports of the use of pellet guns and tear gas shot directly at protesters at short range and without warning" and that "Such practices violate international standards and have resulted in the death of at least one protester." They also said that "Demonstrators detained by government forces at times have been denied medical care and access to lawyers".[58]
The New York Times reported that a protester was "shot at such close range by a soldier at a protest that his surgeon said he had to remove pieces of the plastic shotgun shell buried in his leg, along with the shards of keys" that were in their pocket at the time. Venezuelan authorities have also been accused of shooting shotguns with "hard plastic buckshot at point-blank range" which allegedly injured a great number of protesters and killed a woman. The woman who was killed was banging a pot outside of her house in protest when her father reported that "soldiers rode up on motorcycles" and that the woman then fell while trying to seek shelter in her home. Witnesses of the incident then said that "a soldier got off his motorcycle, pointed his shotgun at her head and fired". The shot that was fired by the policeman "slammed through her eye socket into her brain". The woman died days before her birthday. Her father said that the soldier who killed her was not arrested.[151] There has also been claims by the Venezuelan Penal Forum accusing authorities that have allegedly attempted to tamper with evidence, covering up that they had shot students.[152]
The article 68 of the Venezuelan Constitution states that "the use of firearms and toxic substances to control peaceful demonstrations is prohibited", and that "the law shall regulate the actions of the police and security control of public order."[153][154]
Use of chemical agents
Some demonstrations have been controlled with tear gas and water cannons.[citation needed]
Some mysterious chemical agents were used in Venezuela as well. On 20 March 2014, the appearance of "red gas" first occurred when it was used in San Cristóbal against protesters, with reports that it was CN gas.[155] The first reported use of "green gas" was on 15 February 2014 against demonstrations in Altamira.[156] On 25 April 2014, "green gas" was reportedly used again on protesters in Mérida.[157] Venezuelan-American Ricardo Hausmann, director of the Center for International Development at Harvard made statements that this gas caused protesters to vomit.[158] Some reported that the chemical used was adamsite, a yellow-green arsenical chemical weapon that can cause respiratory distress, nausea and vomiting.[159]
In April 2014, Amnesty International worried about "the use of chemical toxins in high concentrations” by government forces and recommended better training for them.[58]
A study by Mónica Kräuter, a chemist and professor, involved the collection of thousands of tear gas canisters fired by Venezuelan authorities in 2014. She stated that the majority of canisters used the main component CS gas, supplied by Cóndor of Brazil, which meets Geneva Convention requirements. However, 72% of the tear gas used was expired and other canisters produced in Venezuela by Cavim did not show adequate labels or expiration dates. Following the expiration of tear gas, Krauter notes that it "breaks down into cyanide oxide, phosgenes and nitrogens that are extremely dangerous".[160]
In 2017, Amnesty International once again criticized the Bolivarian government's usage of chemical agents, expressing concern of a "red gas" used to suppress protesters in Chacao on 8 April 2017, demanding "clarification of the components of the red tear gas used by state security forces against the opposition demonstrations".[161] Experts stated that all tear gas used by authorities should originally be colorless, noting that the color may be added to provoke or "color" protesters so they can easily be identified and arrested.[162] On 10 April 2017, Venezuelan police fired tear gas at protesters from helicopters flying overhead, resulting with demonstrators running from projectiles to avoid being hit by the canisters.[163]
Abuse of protesters and detainees
According to Amnesty International, "torture is commonplace" against protesters by Venezuelan authorities despite Article 46 of the Venezuelan Constitution prohibiting "punishment, torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".[164] During the protests, there were hundreds of reported cases of torture.[165] In a report titled Punished for Protesting following a March investigation of conduct during the protests, Human Rights Watch said that those who were detained by government authorities were subjected to "severe physical abuse" with some abuses including being beaten "with fists, helmets, and firearms; electric shocks or burns; being forced to squat or kneel, without moving, for hours at a time; being handcuffed to other detainees, sometimes in pairs and others in human chains of dozens of people, for hours at a time; and extended periods of extreme cold or heat." It was also reported that "many victims and family members we spoke with said they believed they might face reprisals if they reported abuses by police, guardsmen, or armed pro-government gangs".[59]
Amnesty International "received reports from detainees who were forced to spend hours on their knees or feet in detention centers". Amnesty International also reported that a student was forced at gunpoint by plainclothes officers to sign a confession to acts he did not commit where his mother explained that “They told him that they would kill him if he didn’t sign it, ... He started to cry, but he wouldn’t sign it. They then wrapped him in foam sheets and started to hit him with rods and a fire extinguisher. Later, they doused him with gasoline, stating that they would then have evidence to charge him.” Amnesty International said that the Human Rights Center at the Andres Bello Catholic University had reported that, “There are two cases that involved electric shocks, two cases that involved pepper gas and another two cases where they were doused with gasoline,” she said. “We’ve found there to be systematic conduct on the part of the state to inflict inhumane treatment on detainees because of similar reports from different days and detention centers.”[58]