Human rights groups tell US Congress Venezuela's repressive regime remains intact

Six months after the U.S. removed Nicolás Maduro from power, human rights organizations told Congress on Wednesday that Venezuela’s repressive regime remains largely intact, with many officials implicated in alleged crimes against humanity still occupying senior government posts and hundreds of political prisoners remaining behind bars.

Testifying before the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, witnesses said the country’s transition has produced limited openings but warned that key institutions of repression—including the judiciary, intelligence services and security forces—have yet to undergo meaningful reform.

Lawmakers used the hearing to examine Venezuela’s political transition following Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces in January, the humanitarian response to the devastating June 24 earthquakes, and the Trump administration’s strategy toward the South American nation.

New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith, the commission’s co-chair, acknowledged what he described as growing optimism among Venezuelans, citing polling showing that 92% of respondents expressed gratitude to President Donald Trump for his actions and that 72% believed Venezuela was moving in the right direction. But he questioned whether the country’s security apparatus—which he said had committed torture, killings and other grave human rights abuses under Maduro—had truly been dismantled.

“I hope that those who have committed those crimes will be held to account,” Smith said, drawing parallels with postwar Bosnia, where perpetrators of atrocities continued serving in police forces after the conflict. He also urged that political prisoners still in detention not be forgotten.

Witnesses responded that personnel changes within the government have done little to alter the underlying power structure.

“There have been changes within the same power structure, but those changes have not meant a real transformation of power,” said Laura Cristina Dib, Venezuela director at the Washington Office on Latin America. She pointed to former Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López’s reassignment to another cabinet post while senior officials identified by a U.N. Fact-Finding Mission—including members of the military counterintelligence service—remain in positions of authority. “These changes need to be real and transformative, not just cosmetic changes,” she said.

Isabel Carlota Roby, senior staff attorney for Latin America at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, argued that Venezuela’s authoritarian system continues to function despite Maduro’s removal.

“This is a regime that lives in a world of appearances,” she told lawmakers. “They are recycling people and changing their roles.” She said many officials implicated in crimes against humanity remain within the chain of command and warned there is “no prospect for justice” while the current institutions remain intact.

Witnesses argued that Maduro’s removal has not dismantled the regime’s power structure. Dib noted that Diosdado Cabello—whose ministry oversees Venezuela’s internal security forces and who has been linked by human rights groups to arbitrary detentions and political persecution and by the U.S. Justice Department to drug trafficking— remains minister of the Interior, while other officials identified by U.N. investigators continue to occupy senior posts. She described the personnel changes as “cosmetic” rather than evidence of a genuine democratic transition.

Roby said Venezuela’s judiciary continues to operate as an instrument of political repression rather than an independent branch of government, preventing victims of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance from obtaining justice through the courts. She stressed that international accountability efforts, including the International Criminal Court’s ongoing investigation into alleged crimes against humanity, remain essential.

Despite those concerns, witnesses acknowledged that some progress has occurred since January.

Martha Tineo, co-founder of the Venezuelan human rights organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, testified from Caracas that her organization has verified the release of 795 political prisoners. However, she said only a minority obtained full freedom under the recently enacted amnesty law, while most remain subject to judicial restrictions and at least 518 people continue to be imprisoned for political reasons.

“The official lists of beneficiaries have not been provided,” Tineo said, adding that independent verification remains difficult. She urged Congress to support three priorities: the unconditional release of all remaining political prisoners, repeal of laws restricting civil society, and dismantling of what she described as the state’s apparatus of political persecution.

Lawmakers also questioned witnesses about opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political rights have been restricted by Venezuelan authorities.

Smith described Machado as “a very, very powerful force” and asked whether her return to Venezuela would advance the democratic transition.

Witnesses agreed that Machado, like all Venezuelans, should be allowed to return freely and participate in politics without restrictions.

“As a citizen, there shouldn’t be a restriction for her return and for political participation,” Dib said.

The hearing devoted considerable attention to the role of civil society following the June 24 earthquakes, which official figures cited during the hearing said killed more than 4,500 people and injured over 16,000.

Witnesses argued the disaster exposed years of institutional deterioration, leaving hospitals, emergency responders and public infrastructure ill-prepared for one of the country’s worst natural disasters in decades. At the same time, they praised local organizations, churches and volunteers for leading much of the humanitarian response despite operating with limited resources and under increasingly restrictive legal conditions.

Several speakers urged Congress to ensure reconstruction efforts strengthen democratic institutions alongside physical infrastructure.

Dib said Venezuela’s recovery requires rebuilding the rule of law, restoring judicial independence and protecting civic space. She presented lawmakers with what she called a “Justice Thermometer,” a set of indicators developed by more than 20 organizations to measure progress on judicial reform, civil liberties, accountability and institutional change.

Human trafficking also featured prominently during the hearing.

Smith, author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, noted that Venezuela has remained on the U.S. State Department’s Tier 3 list—the lowest ranking for anti-trafficking efforts—since 2014. He pointed to widespread sexual exploitation, forced labor and abuses linked to illegal mining operations.

Witnesses said trafficking has worsened because of Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis and mass migration and urged both Caracas and Washington to strengthen protections for women and children while ensuring that U.S. policies do not inadvertently benefit criminal networks operating in the country’s mining regions.

Not all testimony painted a bleak picture.

Andrés Martínez-Fernández, senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, argued that the Trump administration’s pressure campaign had already produced significant gains, including the release of political prisoners, the removal of Cuban security personnel who had supported the Maduro government and signs of economic recovery.

He said Venezuela’s transition should focus not only on democratic reforms but also on economic stabilization, noting that years of poverty and economic collapse were among the principal reasons millions of Venezuelans fled the country.

Still, the dominant message from the hearing was that Maduro’s removal has not, by itself, dismantled the authoritarian system that sustained his rule. Witnesses repeatedly urged Congress to use U.S. influence to press for measurable reforms, including judicial independence, electoral guarantees, freedom for all political prisoners and accountability for those responsible for years of repression.

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