Venezuelan Activists Shot in Colombia, Fears of Transnational Repression Grow

Two Venezuelan activists, Yendri Velásquez and Luis Peche Arteaga, were shot in Bogota, Colombia, on Monday afternoon, leaving them in stable condition after undergoing surgery. The attack has triggered fears among Venezuela's diaspora that the government's crackdown on dissent is seeping beyond the country's borders. Velásquez and Arteaga fled Venezuela last year after President Nicolás Maduro was widely accused of stealing the election and the government detained more than 2,000 people, including human rights defenders and critics.

Key Takeaways:

• The shooting of Yendri Velásquez and Luis Peche Arteaga in Bogota, Colombia, has sparked fears of transnational repression by the Venezuelan government against dissidents.
• The two activists fled Venezuela last year after President Nicolás Maduro's government detained over 2,000 people, including human rights defenders and critics.
• Velásquez was arbitrarily detained by Venezuelan authorities for hours in August last year as he tried to leave the country for a human rights conference, according to an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report.
• The attack is the latest in a series of concerns about the security of Venezuelan exiles in Colombia, with many still awaiting protection and aid.
• Colombian authorities are investigating the attack, but concerns are growing that it was a targeted attack based on the activists' political profiles.
• The attack has sparked a call to action for better security protocols among civil society groups, including hiring bodyguards and seeking third escape countries.
• The Venezuelan government has been accused of canceling Yendri Velásquez's passport and of closing the Venezuelan embassy in Oslo.

Statistics:

• Over 2,000 people, including human rights defenders and critics, were detained by the Venezuelan government last year.
• Nearly 8 million people have fled crisis-stricken Venezuela in recent years, many settling in neighboring Colombia.
• The Venezuelan government has slashed international aid funds for Venezuelan exiles in recent months.
• Six people were killed in a US strike on a boat carrying drugs from Venezuela, according to the Trump administration.
• The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report on Venezuela documented human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearances.

Sources:

• AP News (no date available)
• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report (no date available)
• AP News (no date available), citing Laura Dib, Venezuela Program Director for the Washington Office on Latin America.