(Reuters) – Venezuela has canceled the passports of dozens of journalists and activists since President Nicolas Maduro claimed a re-election victory, a part of what rights teams say is an intensifying marketing campaign of repression towards the authoritarian president’s opponents, the Monetary Instances reported on Saturday.
At the very least 40 folks, largely journalists and human rights activists have had their passports annulled with out clarification, the newspaper reported, citing Caracas-based rights group Laboratorio de Paz.
The group warned that the quantity of people that have had their passports canceled is prone to be a lot increased attributable to Venezuelans’ concern of reporting circumstances, the FT stated.
Laboratorio de Paz couldn’t be instantly reached for the report.
Folks have had their passports confiscated by authorities whereas trying to board flights from the nation’s most important airport, the newspaper reported, citing the rights group.
In contrast to homicide or torture, which have a better political price, the federal government has discovered that passport cancellation is an efficient method of neutralizing and muffling vital voices with minimal effort, the newspaper reported citing Rafael Uzcátegui, co-director of the rights group.
The report comes after Maduro was proclaimed the winner of the South American nation’s disputed July vote by electoral and judicial authorities, a declare rejected as false by the opposition.
(This story has been refiled so as to add the lacking phrase ‘opposition,’ in paragraph 7)
