'More persecution': Venezuela eyes Nicolas Maduro's inauguration | Nicolas Maduro News

Bogota, Colombia – Jesus Medina Ezaine had spent 16 months in a Venezuelan military prison, accused of crimes he said were related to his work as a photojournalist.

But another prison stop appeared imminent, especially after the controversial re-election of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

With Maduro about to be sworn in for a third term, Medina, 43, made a difficult decision: to flee his home in Venezuela for the safety of Bogota, the capital of neighboring Colombia.

“Before they sent me back to prison, I decided to escape,” said Medina.

Maduro's government has long been criticized for alleged repression by political rivals. But Friday's inauguration is expected to bring the election crisis to a head, with observers warning that violence could escalate as Maduro tries to cling to power.

“The government will do everything possible to ensure that Maduro is not re-elected and that he continues his administration,” said Juan Pappier, the deputy director of the American division of Human Rights Watch.

“If they see that there may be a challenge in any way, for example [opposition-led] protests, they will brutally suppress them.”

A climate of fear

Medina remembers his last months in Venezuela full of fear.

Before the controversial election, he joined the campaign of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as a photographer, documenting his efforts to drum up support for president Edmundo Gonzalez.

But that job made him a victim again.

Medina was not unknown to Maduro's government: In 2018, he was arrested on charges of money laundering, criminal organization and inciting hatred, all of which he denies.

Instead, he claims his arrest was in retaliation for his reporting of human rights abuses. He is being held without trial at the Ramo Verde military prison until January 2020.

“The Venezuelan regime does not tolerate any comments or information against them,” he said.

“The media is afraid,” said Medina. “Freedom of speech in Venezuela has been completely lost because journalists inside Venezuela are doing everything they can to avoid arrest.”

But the presidential election of July 28, 2024, brought political repression worse than anything Medina had seen before.

A few hours after the polls closed, the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner, without normally giving the tally of the vote.

Meanwhile, the opposition party has instead published vote receipts that suggest Gonzalez won the election with nearly 70 percent of the vote. As protests erupted over alleged electoral fraud, a government crackdown was launched.

As state troops swept the streets of protesters, taking dissidents from their homes, Medina said he was tipped off that he would be sent to prison – again.

He quickly went to hide. Medina spent two months locked up in different places in the capital Caracas, trying to avoid arrest. He said the country's intelligence service has already knocked on his house in the city.

Feeling trapped, Medina decided to flee to Bogota on September 15, where he has lived ever since.

A wave of oppression

About 2,500 people were eventually arrested in the post-election protests, according to government figures.

Another 25 people were killed, in what independent United Nations investigators called “unprecedented levels of violence”.

A UN fact-finding mission announced earlier this month that at least 56 political activists, 10 journalists and one human rights defender were among those arrested between August and December.

On Tuesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also published a report saying that the regime's systematic repression is aimed at “preventing the participation of the opposition” and “sowing fear among the citizens”.

But in the run-up to Friday's election, more than 1,500 post-election prisoners have been released, in what critics say could be an attempt to lower scrutiny of the government's human rights record.

Alfredo Romero, director of Foro Penal, a Venezuelan human rights watchdog, explained that “having a number of innocent youths and their relatives, especially their mothers, at the door of prisons” holding vigils was a bad reflection of Maduro's administration.

Rights groups have also questioned the accuracy of the government's numbers.

Romero said that there are at least 1,749 prisoners who are still in custody since the first week of January, and some people suspected of not complying with this have been arrested.

“People may be released from prison, but it does not mean that young people will not be arrested,” he said.

The opening backlash

Despite widespread fears of repression, protests are expected on the day of Maduro's third inauguration.

Gonzalez, the opposition presidential candidate, has also pledged to return to Venezuela from exile and be sworn in on Friday. It is not clear how he will follow through on that pledge or how he will fulfill it.

In a video message posted on social media on Sunday, Machado, who has been hiding in Venezuela for months, called on Venezuelans to march in support of the change of power this week.

“Maduro will not leave himself alone, we must make him go with the strength of many people who do not give up,” said Machado. “It is time for us to stand firm and make them understand that they have reached their destination. That this is over. “

Subsequently, the Maduro government has tightened security and sent more than 1,200 soldiers to cities across the country to “ensure peace” on the day of the inauguration.

The government has also detained more than 12 human rights defenders, political activists and relatives of opposition groups in recent days, according to Amnesty International, a human rights group.

Those arrested are suspected to include Gonzalez's son-in-law, Rafael Tudares: The presidential candidate said Tudares was kidnapped by masked men in Caracas on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Machado was arrested while leaving a protest against Maduro, according to opposition officials who said they were shot as he walked. He was released immediately.

An uncertain future

The latest arrests have prompted a new surge in international condemnation.

The US Embassy in Venezuela has called the arrest of Gonzalez's son-in-law an act of “intimidation” against the opposition. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said the arrest prevented him from attending Maduro's inauguration on Friday.

Still, Maduro's control of state institutions has allowed security forces to act with impunity, according to a recent report from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Medina himself believes that repression in Venezuela may escalate if Maduro continues to rule for a third term.

“If we don't get freedom, the persecution will increase,” said Medina. “They will try to eliminate everything they see as opposition parties, including political leaders and the media.”

In the meantime, he added that he hopes to continue his work to expose human rights abuses from abroad.

“What I have decided is that, no matter what, I will fight for my country.”