A/HRC/41/18 B. Targeted repression and persecution on political grounds 30. Over at least a decade, the Government and government-controlled institutions enforced laws and policies that have accelerated the erosion of the rule of law and the dismantlement of democratic institutions, including the National Assembly. 23 Those measures are aimed at neutralizing, repressing and criminalizing political opponents and people critical of the Government. This trend has accelerated since 2016, after the opposition won the majority of seats in the National Assembly, resulting in increased repression targeting the political opposition, and steadily reducing the already limited democratic space. 1. Security measures and institutions 31. On 13 May 2016, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela declared a “state of exception”, which has since been renewed every 60 days. 24 The decree grants wide, vague and discretionary powers to the Executive with the declared purpose of, inter alia, preserving the internal order. In 2017, the President activated a civil-military strategic security plan for the joint operation of armed forces, militias and civilians, known as Plan Zamora. The Plan, along with other security policies, has resulted in the increased militarization of State institutions. The use of the population in intelligence gathering and defence tasks has also been extended through local structures such as community councils, Unidades de Batalla Hugo Chávez, Local Committees for Supply and Food Distribution and Networks for Sociopolitical Coordination and Action (Redes de Articulación y Acción Sociopolítica). 32. The security apparatus includes the Bolivarian National Guard, 25 the Bolivarian National Police and its Special Action Forces, the Bureau for Scientific, Criminal and Forensic Investigations, the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service and the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence. The Bolivarian National Guard and the Bolivarian National Police have been responsible for the excessive use of force in demonstrations since at least 2014. The Special Action Forces of the Bolivarian National Police, a rapid response unit created in 2017 to combat organized crime, has allegedly been responsible for numerous extrajudicial executions in security operations, as has the Bureau for Scientific, Criminal and Forensic Investigations. The intelligence services (the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service and the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence) have been responsible for arbitrary detentions and the ill-treatment and torture of political opponents and their relatives. The armed colectivos contribute to this system by exercising social control in local communities and supporting security forces in repressing demonstrations and dissent. 33. Institutions responsible for the protection of human rights, such as the Office of the Attorney General, the courts and the Ombudsperson, usually do not conduct prompt, effective, thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigations into human rights violations and other crimes committed by State actors, nor do they bring perpetrators to justice and protect victims and witnesses. Such inaction contributes to impunity and the recurrence of violations. 2. Targeting of opposition members and individuals critical of the Government 34. These policies are accompanied by a public rhetoric, including by high-level authorities, that constantly discredits and attacks those who criticize or oppose the Government. Members of the political opposition, human rights activists and journalists, among others, are frequently the targets of discourse labelling them as “traitors” and “destabilizing agents”. This rhetoric is widely disseminated through pro-government media, 23 24 25 The “Tascón list” was an early marker of discrimination and persecution on political grounds. The list is a database of over 3 million Venezuelans who supported a referendum to revoke the mandate of then President Hugo Chávez in 2004, and was used for the mass dismissal of civil servants. Presidential decree No. 2323. Part of the armed forces. 7