Venezuela human rights hit new low as US puts $50M bounty on Maduro's head: State Department

FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. State Department's annual human rights report delivered a grim assessment of conditions in Venezuela, declaring that human rights have fallen to a new low following reports of widespread abuses and state-sanctioned repression, particularly after the July 2024 presidential election when Nicolás Maduro clung to power. 

"The human rights situation in Venezuela significantly worsened," the report reads. "Throughout the year, and particularly after the July 28 [2024] presidential election, Nicolás Maduro and his representatives engaged in serious human rights abuses, reaching a new milestone in the degradation of the rule of law" after the election, according to the U.N. Independent International fact-finding mission on the country in September.

According to the most recent State Department report, credible evidence indicates a dramatic escalation in arbitrary or unlawful killings, disappearances, torture and harsh prison conditions. NGOs and U.N. observers documented extensive restrictions on freedom of expression, with journalists and human rights defenders facing arrests, harassment and censorship. The judiciary remained deeply compromised - unable or unwilling to hold perpetrators accountable for abuses.

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The report noted that the United Nations International Fact Finding Mission stated at least 25 people were killed in the first days following the July 2024 elections, including two children. 

Pro-Maduro leaders "harassed and intimidated privately-owned and democratic opposition-oriented television stations, media outlets, and journalists" through threats, property seizures and prosecutions.

The sweeping report, which will go public Tuesday afternoon, also calls out Brazil and South America for human rights abuses. 

In a parallel diplomatic maneuver, the U.S. Department of Justice, backed by the State Department, significantly increased the reward for Maduro's capture from $25 million to $50 million. Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Maduro of leading one of the world's most notorious narco-trafficking operations, including associations with the Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa cartel and the infamous Cartel of the Suns. The Drug Enforcement Administration has reportedly seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his allies, with nearly seven tons directly tied to him.

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This nullified the previous reward levels - $15 million initially set during Trump's first term, later raised to $25 million under the Biden administration. Venezuela's foreign ministry dismissed the bounty as a "political propaganda operation."

The State Department report highlights an alarming absence of credible efforts by Venezuelan authorities to investigate or prosecute those responsible for human rights violations. Security forces, including the military, police, and colectivos - pro-Maduro armed groups - were repeatedly implicated in abuses, yet the justice system remained ineffective, allowing a culture of impunity to flourish.

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Maduro was indicted in Manhattan court in 2020, during the first Trump administration, on narco-terrorism charges. 

The dictatorial Venezuelan leader held onto power after the 2024 presidential election where the U.S. and much of Europe recognized his opposition as Venezuela's duly elected president.