<\/p>\n
A global human rights watchdog on Wednesday urged the United States and other governments to bolster their support for people seeking democratic change in Venezuela and to hold President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro accountable for the crackdown on dissent he intensified after the country\u2019s presidential election last year.<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch specifically called on the U.S. to consider imposing additional sanctions on Venezuelan government officials<\/a><\/span> and members of state security forces. HRW also called for sanctions on ruling party-loyal armed groups linked to the widespread rights violations that followed the July 28 vote that Maduro claims to have won despite credible evidence to the contrary.<\/p>\n At the same time, the organization recommended the U.S. rescind an executive order President Donald Trump signed in February imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court<\/a><\/span> over investigations of Israel. The order, according to the watchdog, could affect an ongoing investigation by the court\u2019s prosecutor into possible crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the Trump administration has not specifically objected to the Court\u2019s engagement with the situation in Venezuela, the sanctions program appears designed in part to chill broader cooperation with the ICC and intimidate Court officials, and will likely affect the rights of victims globally,\u201d Human Rights Watch said in a report published Wednesday.<\/p>\n The report is the latest work from human rights advocates documenting Venezuela\u2019s post-election repression campaign against members of the political opposition, protesters, bystanders and others. Their findings have implicated state security forces and ruling party-loyal armed groups<\/a><\/span> in killings, torture and other abuses across the country during and after demonstrations that followed the election.<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s National Electoral Council, stacked with government loyalists, declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election. But unlike in previous contests, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts to back the announced result.<\/p>\n The opposition, however, collected tally sheets<\/a><\/span> from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online \u2014 showing its candidate, Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez, had won by a more than a 2-1 margin. U.N. experts and the U.S.-based Carter Center, both invited by Maduro\u2019s government to observe the election, have said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n More than 2,000 people were detained in the days after the election and hundreds were charged with counts of terrorism and incitement to hatred. Many detainees, including members of the opposition and foreign nationals, were subjected to enforced disappearances.<\/p>\n Most of those detainees have been released, according to Venezuela\u2019s Attorney General\u2019s Office. But dozens of people affiliated with the opposition remain behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n