Andrés Colmenárez
Andrés Colmenárez Testimony
The defamation campaigns by government officials against defenders in Venezuela, which are echoed in the national system of public media, have been systematic and target various groups defending human rights.
Andrés Colmenarés is the Director of FUNPAZ - Fuerza, Unión, Justicia, Solidaridad y Paz, a Venezuelan organisation for human rights and the de-criminalization of peaceful protest in Venezuela.
HRDs have been working under restrictive policies for many years: the Maduro administration has continued the work begun by Chávez in restricting civil space and delegitimising HRDs, repeatedly accusing them of undermining the Venezuelan democracy with the alleged collaboration of the United States. HRDs are discredited and criminalised by state-controlled media (television, radio, print media) on a weekly basis.
