The International Press Institute (IPI) today urges Venezuelan authorities to immediately release all journalists behind bars, in line with the government’s pledges to release prisoners. We also reiterate our call on authorities to respect press freedom and the rights of all journalists to report freely and safely amid reports of detentions and harassment of media workers.
On January 8, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly announced the government would be releasing a “significant number” of prisoners as a gesture to “seek peace” following the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, on January 3. Yet while the government has claimed – as of January 12 – that more than a hundred prisoners have been freed, rights groups say the number of verified releases is much smaller.
Venezuela is thought to have more than 800 political prisoners behind bars. According to the National Union of Press Workers of Venezuela (SNTP), more than 20 journalists and media workers are currently imprisoned in Venezuela, many of whom were arrested during the crackdowns following Venezuela’s widely disputed 2024 presidential election.
Many journalists currently on the ground in Venezuela have expressed fears of renewed reprisals and attacks as the security situation in the country remains volatile.
IPI is deeply concerned about a series of alarming reports of temporary detentions of journalists that followed the U.S. military operation in Venezuela’s capital. On January 5, during the opening session of the National Assembly, 14 journalists and media workers – most from international outlets – were detained and later released by authorities. Many of the detained journalists reported that authorities threatened them, seized and searched their equipment, and deleted journalistic content from their devices.
SNTP has also reported several cases of deportations of international journalists, as well as hundreds of journalists prevented from entering the country via Venezuela’s border with Colombia.
Venezuela has one of the most repressive and restrictive environments for media in the world. Few independent news outlets remain, as the Maduro regime has engaged in a systematic, yearslong campaign of legal harassment, intimidation and censorship against the free press.
“IPI calls for the immediate release of all incarcerated journalists in Venezuela,” said IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen. “Our global network of journalists and editors stands in full solidarity with all independent journalists in the country – and we defend their right to report freely and safely, and without intimidation or fear”.