Destination Risk Register

While Venezuela is legally a multiparty, constitutional republic, the authoritarian regime claims control over all public institutions. In November 2021, the Maduro regime organized regional and municipal elections largely perceived as skewed in their favor. Election observers and media reported arbitrary arrests, criminalization of opposition parties’ activities, bans on candidates, and media censorship during the elections. The European Union was allowed to act as election observer for the first time in 15 years, but the regime asked its observers to leave the country before they could present their final report. In the final report, the European Union noted significant structural deficiencies to the electoral system. There were reports nonstate armed groups and criminal gangs engaged in violence, human trafficking, child recruitment, exploitation of Indigenous communities, and sexual abuse. There were also reports that members of security forces committed numerous abuses. Representatives of the president did not take credible steps or action to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses.

The overall score indicates that there are severe risks of potential human rights violations in this country. This may also include the tourism sector. Relevant risks for the tourism sector are, e.g.:

• Trafficking in persons, incl. forced labor
• Threat of violence against indigenous persons and LGBTQI+ persons
• Worst forms of child labor
• Lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence