A/HRC/45/CRP.11 even if the prosecutors consider that there is not sufficient grounds to do so, potentially interfering with prosecutorial independence.386 164. After speaking out against the Maduro Government, former Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz had her immunity lifted on 20 June 2017,387 allegedly because she had not fulfilled her duties by failing to investigate deaths resulting from “violent acts generated by opposition political parties”, among other reasons.388 She was later removed from the position in one of the first acts of the National Constituent Assembly. 389 165. As detailed below, the judiciary has itself become an instrument of repression, creating an accountability imbalance at variance with the principle of equality of arms. The Mission documented cases in which members of the judiciary were involved, either by act or omission, in the perpetration of serious human rights violations. This is especially true in the case of the criminal prosecution of political opponents - cases that have demonstrated recurrent violations of due process guarantees. Further, the cases investigated by the Mission show that the State has increasingly turned to military tribunals to try political dissidents. The Mission discusses the issue of the use of military tribunals in Chapter III on Targeted Political Repression, including in relation to specific cases. III. Security Framework 166. The Constitution of 1999 establishes the basic security structure and chain of command for military and civilian security forces (Title VII). However, since 2014, the Government has made various changes to the security framework, through the adoption of laws, plans and policies, mainly from the President and the Ministry of Popular Power for Defence (hereinafter Ministry of Defence). Most of these have been through executive orders (stamped with note that they have “force and rank of law”) or ad-hoc plans, bypassing the legislative process. This has included the following: Table 2: Security Plans and Policies since 2014 Name Date Legal basis Description 1. Plan Patria Segura (Secure Homeland Plan) December 2013 (relaunched 2017) Part of the second Plan Patria to establish a socialist State390 Plan contemplating co-responsibility of popular power and FANB for the protection of citizens 2. Creation of the Strategic Centre January 2014 for Homeland Security and Protection (CESPPA) 386 387 388 389 390 391 Ministry of the Interior Establishing the CESSPA to Resolution No. 007-14 dated periodically report to the President on 29 January 2014391 the security situation in the country Judgment No. 537 of 12 July 2017 (suspending the Supreme Court suspended application of article 305 of the Criminal Procedure Code). Judgment No. 43 of 20 June 2017, available at: https://vlexvenezuela.com/vid/sentencia-n-43tribunal-825475461 Ibid. Constitutional Decree of 17 August 2017, ratifying in the exercise of their constitutional functions the citizens Tarek William Saab, Attorney General of the Republic and President of the Moral Republican Council; Manuel Galindo Ballesteros, Comptroller General of the Republic and Alfredo Ruiz Angulo, Ombudsman, published in Official Gazette No. 41.216 of 17 August 2017, available at: https://pandectasdigital.blogspot.com/2017/08/decreto-constituyente-mediante-el-cual_21.html. See Law Plan Patria, published in Official Gazette No. 6118, December 2013, art. 2.5.5.6, available at: https://albaciudad.org/LeyPlanPatria/. See also BBC, Venezuela: Maduro anuncia plan de seguridad ciudadana, 13 May 2013, available at: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2013/05/130513_ultnot_venezuela_maduro_seguridad _en. Ministry of the Interior Resolution No. 007-14 dated 29 January 2014, Published in the Official Gazette No. No. 40,355 dated 13 February 2014, available at: https://pandectasdigital.blogspot.com/2016/06/reglamento-interno-del-centro.html. 43