Again, Nicolás Maduro was accused this Tuesday of committing crimes against humanity. This time by the United Nations Fact Finding Mission in its third report on Venezuela.
(Also read: Minister Reyes confirms meeting between Petro and Maduro on the border)
The UN mission interviewed 246 people and documented 122 cases of victims who were “subjected to torture, sexual violence and/or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” perpetrated by agents of the intelligence services from 2014 to the present. Among the victims there were mostly opponents, activists, former soldiers and journalists.
According to the UN, the orders were issued directly from Maduro to the heads of the civil and military intelligence services, but also close collaborators, such as Diosdado Cabello, appear in the chain of command for the commission of the crimes.
(Also: UN accuses Maduro and intelligence chiefs of crimes against humanity)
How does the relationship with Colombia affect?
For several days, a group of countries promoted the renewal of the mandate of experts on Venezuela and the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Colombia, Argentina and Honduras did not join, but Ecuador, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Guatemala, Paraguay and Peru did, in addition to the United States.
In order for the Mission’s mandate to be renewed, it is necessary that among the 47 states that make up the UN Human Rights Council there must be more affirmative votes or abstentions than negative votes.
Before the arrival of Gustavo Petro to the presidency, Colombia would have been one of the first to request the renewal of the mission, along with the United States. But, now, he is even considering withdrawing the request before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to continue the investigation against Venezuela for the crimes committed.
(Keep reading: What happens if Colombia withdraws the complaint against Venezuela at the ICC?)
This whole relationship that he is trying to open with Venezuela is complicated to the extent that he is establishing relations with a tyrant
The reason? It seems that Petro’s policy, which although he has maintained a pro-human rights discourse, will be pragmatic regarding Caracas, with whom he has begun to recover broken relations. That supposes a rapprochement with Maduro, so much so that it is expected that the next 26 will face each other in what they have called the reopening of the border.
Could international pressure on Maduro then deteriorate the principle of reestablishing relations? For analysts, The Colombian president does not want to appear to be an ally of his Venezuelan counterpart, at least not as notoriously.
“The cause of human rights for Petro is important, it is a source of legitimacy for his management, so this whole relationship that he is trying to open with Venezuela is complicated to the extent that he is establishing relations with a tyrant,” he tells EL TIEMPO Alonso Domínguez, coordinator of the Documentation Network of Crimes Against Humanity.
Even during the presidential campaign, Petro called Maduro a “murderer of students”, but shortly after he assured that he would restore relations and has been doing so.
The binational commercial interest seems to be above, in addition to building the consular relationship again seems urgent, especially because of the almost 5,000,000 Colombians who live in Venezuela.
The impact of the report
Sara Fernández, a member of the NGO Center for Justice and Peace (Cepaz), commented that the report makes it clear “once again” that these events are part of a structure and pattern ordered by the government, and not isolated events.
“The Mission is not a court, but uses all the evidence with the standard of proof of reasonable grounds to draw conclusions, these conclusions should be used as evidence for the Venezuelan jurisdiction to investigate. But if you do not want to investigate, the prosecutor can continue. of the ICC with the investigation, but in any case it is a court that must determine individual responsibility”, emphasizes Fernández.
Fernández also specified that the International Criminal Court has no limits to incorporate into its investigations violations that have not been part of the preliminary examination, so that new crimes that are part of the recent report can be investigated if it considers it so, even more so having the new element of the recent award to perpetrators.
(Also: the US threatens Maduro with intensifying sanctions if he does not negotiate with the opposition)
The support of Colombia was a fundamental piece for the complaints against Maduro. Now, without that pressure, the United States must turn to other governments to pressure or continue to do so on its own.
Joe Biden’s officials have already expressed that they do not have “infinite patience” and that if Chavismo does not return to negotiations with the opposition, more sanctions will come, an issue that could generate discomfort in the neighboring country, which is trying rather to incorporate Venezuela into the region, integrate it again into the Organization of American States and the Andean Community of Nations (CAN).
Nor should we ignore the fact that, through a letter, Petro has asked Maduro to participate in the dialogues with the National Liberation Army (Eln), to which the Venezuelan president has said yes, that is, from Colombia. no pressure will be seen, at least public and forceful, on the prosecution of Maduro for the issue of human rights.
ANA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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