The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission says the force has played a central role in systematic repression since 2014, entrenching impunity and violating basic rights.

“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 Valiñas, the Mission’s Chair.

“The persistence of these crimes and the absence of adequate justice require a determined response from national and international accountability mechanisms.”

Excessive force

The GNB used excessive force, including the improper use of lethal weapons, during peak periods of protest in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2024.

The Mission said it has reasonable grounds to believe that officials fired indiscriminately on protestors, including aiming directly at vital areas on the body.

Investigators also received information regarding projectiles being modified to cause greater harm.

They also documented mass and targeted arbitrary detentions, physical violence during arrests, planting of evidence, torture, and sexual and gender-based violence inside GNB facilities that were used as temporary detention centres.

Pattern of abuse

“The torture, ill-treatment, and acts of sexual violence we have verified – including assaults and rape – were not isolated incidents. They form part of a pattern of abuse used to punish and break victims,” said Ms. Valiñas.

The report found the GNB was a central actor in the commission of persecution on political grounds, which is a crime against humanity.

The military force also played a key role in the 2024 post-election “Operation Tun Tun” (Spanish for “knock, knock”) raids that sought to target and criminalise opponents through unfounded accusations of terrorism or incitement to hatred.

Structural impunity and systemic failures

The report identifies what the Mission described as “a pattern of structural impunity sustained by systemic failures within the Venezuelan judicial system, revealing its inability or unwillingness to investigate or prosecute violations committed by the GNB.”

This is further characterized by stalled investigations, prolonged procedural paralysis, manipulation of evidence, deliberate obstruction by the GNB, and accountability that is exclusively limited to low-ranking personnel.

The report contains an in-depth analysis of the internal operational structures of the branch, including its chain of command.

It also details how Venezuela’s “national security” doctrine has merged military and police functions, thus legitimising the militarization of public security and expanding the GNB’s role in operations aimed at social control and internal repression.

About the Fact-Finding Mission

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was established by the UN Human Rights Council in September 2019 to assess alleged violations committed in the country since 2014.

Over the past year, it has also focused on investigating the human rights situation surrounding the disputed 2024 presidential elections and on violence by pro-government militias known as “colectivos”.

The Mission consists of three members who receive their mandate from the Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva. They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.