Press Release Jul 11, 2016 Infographic: Repression in Venezuela Violence is rampant, the media is censored, members of the authentic opposition are in prison, corruption is out of control, there is a historic food and supply shortage, blackouts occur daily, the currency has been destroyed by hyperinflation, and a militaristic regime has slowly taken over all key functions of government and civil society.
Press Release Jun 30, 2016 Nicaragua: HRF Condemns Court Ruling Leaving Ortega As Sole Presidential Candidate Callejas was the only presidential candidate competing against President Daniel Ortega for the general election, which is scheduled for November 6.
Press Release Jun 24, 2016 OAS: HRF Welcomes Long-Overdue Session Assessing Venezuela’s Democratic Erosion During his opening remarks, Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS, lamented: “The people of Venezuela are faced with a government that is no longer accountable to them.
Press Release Jun 21, 2016 Cuba: Activists Arrested After Meeting With OAS Secretary General Both activists were detained for six hours last week at José Martí Airport in Havana when returning to the country after taking part in meetings with the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro.
Press Release Jun 17, 2016 HRF Met with OAS Chief in the Dominican Republic El-Hage praised Almagro’s moral courage and congratulated him for activating the Inter-American Democratic Charter’s (IADC) 2001 democracy clause, which could lead to the suspension of the government of Venezuela from participation in all organs of the OAS.
Press Release Jun 13, 2016 HRF to Cuba: Stop Harassing Dissident Doctor In March, Herrera — a surgeon at the Calixto García University Hospital in Havana and a deputy editor for the Hablemos Press independent news agency — was barred from leaving the country to attend a human rights conference in the Czech Republic.
Press Release Jun 9, 2016 HRF to Almagro: For 8 Years We’ve Urged Suspension of Venezuelan Regime from OAS The session may lead to the suspension of Venezuela’s Maduro’s regime from the OAS for violating the organization’s rules making democratic governance a requirement for participation.
Press Release Apr 21, 2016 Venezuela: HRF Condemns Prison Sentence Against Journalist Who Denounced Corruption Natera Febres was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $20,000 for reporting on a corruption case linked to the state-owned company CVG Ferrominera Orinoco and to Venezuela’s Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence.
Press Release Apr 12, 2016 Venezuela: HRF Condemns Large-scale, Illegal Wiretapping of Political Opposition A recent journalistic investigation revealed that a group of intelligence agents from the Strategic Center for the Security and Protection of the Homeland (CESPPA), acting under direct instructions from President Nicolás Maduro, has unlawfully wiretapped phone conversations, and hacked text messages and email communications of prominent opposition figures such as Henrique Capriles, María Corina Machado, Henry Ramos Allup, and Julio Borges.
Press Release Mar 30, 2016 HRF to Cuba: Stop Harassing El Sexto El Sexto has been detained three times and held for three to five hours each time since his return to Cuba earlier this month.
News Mar 28, 2016 Javier El-Hage writes on Obama’s visit to Cuba in El País El presidente Obama ahora ostenta el dudoso honor de ser el único presidente en ejercicio de Estados Unidos que ha posado en decenas de fotografías con uno de los hermanos Castro en la mismísima Habana, en pleno año 57 de su régimen totalitario.
News Mar 18, 2016 Garry Kasparov in Newsweek Historical comparisons involving Russian leader Vladimir Putin are usually directed toward the distant past.
Press Release Mar 16, 2016 HRF to UN: Inquire into Death Threats Against Rosa María Payá in Cuba The appeal requested that the rapporteur call on the Cuban government to provide an official and comprehensive explanation regarding the state’s treatment of Rosa María Payá.
Press Release Feb 24, 2016 HRF to UN: Inquire into Suspicious Death of Oswaldo Payá in Cuba In a meeting with staff members from the U.N. Special Rapporteur’s office, HRF presented the conclusions of its July 2015 legal report, which strongly suggests that Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá’s 2012 death was an extrajudicial execution carried out by the Cuban government.
Press Release Feb 10, 2016 HRF Supports the First US Exhibit of Cuban Artist El Sexto El Sexto, a Cuban graffiti artist and activist, will showcase his work in an exhibition entitled “PORK,” which will take place at Market Gallery in South Beach, Miami, from February 26 to March 16.
Press Release Jan 29, 2016 Ecuador: HRF Condemns Cyber-Attacks Against Free Press Watchdog These attacks began just days after the nonprofit launched Censuracom.ec, a website designed to expose the government’s crackdown on independent media during 2015.
Press Release Jan 21, 2016 Venezuela: HRF Condemns Inhuman Treatment of Leopoldo López’s Wife and Mother Both women were told to undress in separate rooms — in the case of Mendoza, she was forced to do so in front of her two grandchildren, ages three and six — and were verbally abused in an attempt to punish and humiliate them.
News Jan 21, 2016 DW quotes HRF on El Sexto’s release from Cuban prison Maldonado, considerado preso de conciencia por Amnistía Internacional, explicó que se encuentra “bien de salud, contento y animado”, en una llamada de teléfono desde su domicilio familiar en La Habana.
Press Release Jan 6, 2016 HRF to OAS Secretary-General: Apply the Democracy Clause in Venezuela HRF calls on Almagro to summon an extraordinary session of the Permanent Council of the OAS in order to analyze the situation in Venezuela and call for a peaceful return to democratic rule in that country.
Blog Post Dec 17, 2015 Nicki Minaj Shouldn’t Be Performing for Dictators HRF president Thor Halvorssen and HRF International Council member George Ayittey in Slate on Nicki Minaj’s upcoming performance for Angolan dictator José Eduardo dos Santos.
