VENEZUELA: ILAAD SUBMITS AN URGENT PROCEDURE REQUEST TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONCERNING THE ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF 5 INDIVIDUALS

The International League Against Arbitrary Detention (ILAAD), alongside JusticiaXLibertad and Venezuelan human rights lawyer Eduardo Torres, have submitted a request for urgent procedure to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on behalf of 5 victims of enforced disappearance, namely Renzo Yasir HUAMANCHUMO CASTILLO, David Josué MISSE DURAN, Alejandro Jose BETANCOURT GUAICAIA, Raymar Nohely PÉREZ ALVARADO and Rosa Carolina CHIRINOS ZAMBRANO.

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF 5 INDIVIDUALS ACCUSED OF PLOTTING TO ASSASSINATE THE PRESIDENT

The five individuals — Mr. Renzo Yasir HUAMANCHUMO CASTILLO (a Peruvian national), Mr. David Josué MISSE DURAN (Venezuelan and Colombian), Mr. Alejandro Jose BETANCOURT GUAICAIA, Ms. Raymar Nohely PÉREZ ALVARADO, and Ms. Rosa Carolina CHIRINOS ZAMBRANO (all Venezuelan citizens) — were arrested on September 22, 2024, at a checkpoint upon entering Venezuelan territory coming from Colombia by the Bolivarian National Guard and the forces operating the checkpoint.

On 17 October 2024, Venezuela’s Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace, Mr. Diosdado Cabello, held a press conference on national television during which he publicly accused them, among 19 foreign nationals and 14 Venezuelan citizens of being mercenaries plotting to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro.

On this occasion, he announced they had been detained in an undisclosed location. To date, the Venezuelan government has refused to disclose the detainees’ whereabouts, and they remain in prolonged incommunicado detention, raising serious concerns about the risk of torture and ill-treatment. Those concerns were increased when on October 23, 2024, President Maduro revealed that the suspected mercenaries were “convicted” after their own “confessions” obtained after “rigorous interrogations”, suggesting that torture and ill-treatment are being used against the detainees.

URGENT PROCEDURE REQUESTED TO THE UN WORKING GROUP ON ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES

ILAAD recalls that the continued detention in secret locations of the five individuals reflects a broader pattern. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has previously raised concerns regarding Venezuela's systematic use of enforced disappearances, incommunicado detention, and disregard for legal protections, which often result in severe human rights violations, including torture and ill-treatment. 

These findings are corroborated by the report (A/HRC/57/CRP.5) of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which documented an alarming increase in human rights violations between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024, including the use of torture in cases of in cases of enforced disappearances with methods included “punching, beatings with wooden planks or bats wrapped in foam, electric shocks - including to the genitals-, suffocation with plastic bags, immersion in cold water and forced sleep deprivation through lighting and/or loud music 24 hours a day”.

In view of these findings, the urgent procedure request appeals to the Working Group to immediately disclose the location of the victims and ensure proper legal process, consular access, and independent verification of their safety and well-being.