A/HRC/45/CRP.11 some political prisoners were released in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission.275 132. In 2018, the National Constituent Assembly named Attorney General Tarek William Saab Halabi as the president of the “Truth Commission”, replacing the former president of the National Constituent Assembly, Delcy Eliona Rodríguez Gómez, who had been appointed Vice President.276 In July 2018, the mandate of the commission was extended, in light of the “new acts of violence [that have taken place] for political reasons, which should be duly investigated”.277 It is unclear whether any cases have been passed to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for follow up or how these bodies interact. The Commission ended its functions on 31 December 2019. 3. Executive Consolidation of Power 133. As the opposition has been debilitated, the executive has taken on increasingly expansive powers. Under the 1999 Constitution, the executive power is exercised by the President, the Executive Vice-President, the Cabinet Ministers and other officials determined by law.278 As at 2020, there are 33 ministers of “Popular Power” within the Maduro cabinet, the largest cabinet in Latin America. Since 2014, around 25 to 30 per cent of these have been former or active military personnel.279 134. Article 236 lays out the President’s powers, which includes acting as commander in chief of the military. However, for over four years, President Maduro has expanded governing powers beyond those enumerated in article 236 of the Constitution thorough decrees declaring states of exception and emergency. 135. The Constitution allows for the adoption of states of exception in social, political, natural or ecological situations “which seriously affect the security of the Nation, institutions and citizens”.280 In such cases, the guarantees enshrined in the Constitution may be temporarily restricted, except those referring to the right to life, the prohibition of incommunicado detention or torture, the right to due process, the right to information and other intangible human rights.281 136. States of economic emergency may be declared when extraordinary economic circumstances arise and these shall last 60 days, with the possibility of extension for the same period.282 Under the Organic Law of States of Exceptions, during states of exception, the executive has broad powers to enact “all the measures” considered pertinent to the 275 276 277 278 See e.g., BBC, Venezuela: liberado un primer grupo de presos “por motivos políticos”, entre los que está el exalcalde Daniel Ceballos, 1 June 2018, available at: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticiasamerica-latina-44339017. See Constitutional Decree of 19 June 2018, published in the Official Gazette No. 41.423, 20 June 2018, available at: https://pandectasdigital.blogspot.com/2018/06/decreto-constituyente-mediante-elcual_21.html. See Decree Constituyente de modificación de la Ley Constitucional de la Comisión para la Verdad, la Justicia, la Paz y la Tranquilidad Pública, published in the Official Gazette No. 41.667 of 3 July 2019, art. 4, available at: https://pandectasdigital.blogspot.com/2019/07/decreto-constituyente-demodificacion.html#. 1999 Constitution, art. 225. 279 https://www.controlciudadano.org/noticias/control-ciudadano-militares-pierden-influenciaen-el-gabinete-de-maduro. 280 1999 Constitution, art. 337. Ibid., Article 7 of the 2001 Organic Law on the States of Exceptions (Gaceta Oficial NO.37.261 de fecha 15 de agosto de 2001) indicates what these intangibles rights are, in accordance with articles 339 of the Constitution, 4.2 of the ICCPR and 27(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights, namely the right to: life; recognition of legal personality; protection of the family; equality before the law; nationality; personal liberty and the prohibition of the practice of enforced disappearance of persons; personal, physical, psychological and moral integrity; not to be subjected to slavery or servitude; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; the legality and non-retroactivity of laws, especially criminal laws; due process of law; constitutional protection; participation, suffrage and access to public service; and information. Ibid., art. 338. 281 282 33